Mei Xing hopes to go places with debutant Pei Kee in third outing at worlds

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: The third time could be the charm for women’s doubles shuttler Teoh Mei Xing as she looks to go further at the World Championships in Paris this week.

This time, Mei Xing will be partnering Go Pei Kee, her third partner at the event, and the duo will face Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva in the second round on Wednesday (Aug 27).

She believes there is a window of opportunity for her and Pei Kee to make a deeper run this time, due to their thorough preparations.

Among the steps taken were sparring with several invited men’s players such as Ashraf Daniel Md Zakaria, Jeremy Juan and Nurfirdaus Azman, the elder brother of former women’s singles shuttler Siti Nurshuhaini Azman.

The sessions have helped the pair raise their level compared to before, although they still need to strengthen their mental resolve for the tournament.

“I feel we have a bit of luck this time, and I believe God has given us this chance, so we must give our best,” said Mei Xing.

“I think we have the confidence, but most importantly, we need to deliver our best performance when we step onto the court.”

Mei Xing made her debut in the 2021 edition in Huelva with Yap Ling but their campaign ended in the first round.

In the next two editions, she paired up with Anna Cheong. But they didn’t get far, bowing out in the last 32 in Tokyo in 2022 to South Korea’s Jeong Na-eun-Kim Hye-jeong, before another second-round exit in Copenhagen last year to Thailand’s Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai.

Pei Kee, meanwhile, admitted that she needs to be calm when she steps onto the court since this is her first appearance in the prestigious tournament.

She also appreciated the support and encouragement from Mei Xing as they aim to deliver their best performance together.

“For me, I don’t think too much about it as this is my first World Championships. I just focus on training to build up my confidence before stepping onto the court.

“When I calm myself during the game, it gives me the confidence that I need,” said Pei Kee.

Apart from Mei Xing-Pei Kee, Malaysia’s other women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will also begin their campaign as the second seeds against Hong Kong’s Lui Lok Lok-Tsang Hiu Yan.

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Shifeng’s shock loss piles pressure on China’s other singles aces

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: The third time could be the charm for women’s doubles shuttler Teoh Mei Xing as she looks to go further at the World Championships in Paris this week.

This time, Mei Xing will be partnering Go Pei Kee, her third partner at the event, and the duo will face Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva in the second round on Wednesday (Aug 27).

She believes there is a window of opportunity for her and Pei Kee to make a deeper run this time, due to their thorough preparations.

Among the steps taken were sparring with several invited men’s players such as Ashraf Daniel Md Zakaria, Jeremy Juan and Nurfirdaus Azman, the elder brother of former women’s singles shuttler Siti Nurshuhaini Azman.

The sessions have helped the pair raise their level compared to before, although they still need to strengthen their mental resolve for the tournament.

“I feel we have a bit of luck this time, and I believe God has given us this chance, so we must give our best,” said Mei Xing.

“I think we have the confidence, but most importantly, we need to deliver our best performance when we step onto the court.”

Mei Xing made her debut in the 2021 edition in Huelva with Yap Ling but their campaign ended in the first round.

In the next two editions, she paired up with Anna Cheong. But they didn’t get far, bowing out in the last 32 in Tokyo in 2022 to South Korea’s Jeong Na-eun-Kim Hye-jeong, before another second-round exit in Copenhagen last year to Thailand’s Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai.

Pei Kee, meanwhile, admitted that she needs to be calm when she steps onto the court since this is her first appearance in the prestigious tournament.

She also appreciated the support and encouragement from Mei Xing as they aim to deliver their best performance together.

“For me, I don’t think too much about it as this is my first World Championships. I just focus on training to build up my confidence before stepping onto the court.

“When I calm myself during the game, it gives me the confidence that I need,” said Pei Kee.

Apart from Mei Xing-Pei Kee, Malaysia’s other women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will also begin their campaign as the second seeds against Hong Kong’s Lui Lok Lok-Tsang Hiu Yan.

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Still swinging strong as Mei Xing fights against time

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles shuttler Teoh Mei Xing (pic) is the epitome of perseverance.

After nearly 17 months together with Go Pei Kee, the world No. 18 pair are now just one step away from matching or even surpassing the highest world ranking of Mei Xing’s career.

She previously hit a career-high of world No. 17 with Anna Cheong, a partnership that delivered two titles – the Syed Modi International and the Czech Open in 2021 before it ended when Anna suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and later left the national team in September last year.

Mei Xing had to start from scratch with Pei Kee, and she admits the climb this time has been far tougher than her earlier rise with Anna.

“I was fortunate as my ranking with Anna went up during the Covid-19 period when not many players were competing, so it was much easier compared to now,” said Mei Xing.

“But my current rise in the rankings came after the Paris Olympics, when there were scratch pairings, some players had stopped competing and others were just returning to the game. So it’s not as easy as people might think, nor is it too difficult, but it is still challenging.

“I had to start all over again. Many people had told me to give up badminton, but I thought it over and decided to just do my job and give my best,” said Mei Xing.

One of the challenges Mei Xing has faced is the perception that, at 28, she has been in the national team far too long.

She silenced some of those critics last month with a strong showing at the Japan Open, ousting world No. 9 pair Kie Nakanishi-Rin Iwanaga of Japan to reach the quarter-finals.

“Some told me to stop because of my age. There were those who said I was old and questioned when I would leave the national team.

“There have been plenty of such voices, but I feel that as long as I can play, I want to keep going, especially since I don’t have any serious injuries.

“More importantly, I know myself better because I’m the one stepping onto the court, not those voices,” added Mei Xing.

Mei Xing-Pei Kee will join world No. 2 pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah at the World Championships in Paris later this month, and are eagerly awaiting the draw scheduled for next Wednesday.

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Mei Xing-Pei Kee combo set to gain traction with expected top 20 ranking

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Teoh Mei Xing deserves credit for rebuilding her career in the women’s doubles with Go Pei Kee after a series of setbacks.

Mei Xing was on a promising path with previous partner Anna Cheong but their combination was cruelly cut short after the latter tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in her right knee at the end of 2022.

Anna tried to make a comeback with Mei Xing in 2023 but never fully recovered and was forced to retire from the sport.

The pair reached a career high No. 17 before Anna’s injury and looked capable of breaking into the world’s top 10.

Without Anna, Mei Xing played in the mixed doubles with Hoo Pang Ron for a short while.

It looked like her career was also going to peter out but the 28-year-old refused to give up and has found a new lease of life after combining with Pei Kee last year.

Mei Xing is set to return to the top 20 in the world again with the 23-year-old when the official rankings list are updated today.

Mei Xing-Pei Kee, who are currently ranked at No. 22, pulled off a sensational victory over Japan’s world No. 8 Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi to reach the ongoing China Open quarter-finals in Changzhou.

Although the duo then lost to world No. 7 home pair Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian, it was still a breakthrough for them after making it into their maiden World Tour Super 1000 last eight.

It was also Mei Xing-Pei Kee’s first win over a pair ranked in the top 10.

Mei Xing hopes the breakthrough will be the start of more for her and Pei Kee.

“This is our best performance this year and we are feeling positive,” said Mei Xing.

“We hope to keep going. Our aim next is to try to win a Super 300 or 500 title.”

Mei Xing-Pei Kee’s only title so far together is the Malaysia Super 100 which they clinched last October.

The pair have an opportunity to build on their performance in China when they compete next in the Super 300 Macau Open which starts on Tuesday.

Mei Xing-Pei Kee are out to progress further in the tourney after quarter-final finishes in the Indonesian Masters, Orleans Masters and German Open this year.

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Women’s doubles pair Mei Xing-Pei Kee win Super 100 title but unsure of fate

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles shuttlers Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee are still in the dark about whether they will be allowed to continue as a pair despite winning their maiden title together in the Malaysia Super 100.

Mei Xing-Pei Kee, who were only combined permanently in June, toppled Taiwan’s top seeds Nicole Chan-Yang Chu-yun 22-20, 21-11 in the final at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara yesterday.

Both Mei Xing and Pei Kee shed tears of relief and joy after the win.

The pair had been on the verge of losing to independent duo Ng Qi Xuan-Yap Rui Chen in the last four on Saturday when they trailed 20-22, 18-20 but Qi Xuan suffered a serious knee injury and had to retire from the match.

Although Mei Xing-Pei Kee managed to take the opportunity given to them by going on to win the title, they are unsure if they will remain as a pair or even be retained by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).

Both are under evaluation and waiting for their fate to be decided by a new women’s doubles head coach.

Mei Xing-Pei Kee struggled in all their individual tournaments since they were combined, losing in the early rounds in every outing before turning around their fortunes in the home tourney.

“We are so happy to win this title. We were lucky to reach the final and we did not want to waste this opportunity,” said Mei Xing.

“The supporters were amazing and we did not want to disappoint them.

“It has been a long time since we reached a final. We kept losing in the early rounds in all our tournaments before this, so this is a boost for our partnership.”

Pei Kee said: “We won but we are not sure if we will continue playing together after this.

“It depends on the new coach. All we can do is keep working hard in training and keep giving our best in training.”

While it was Pei Kee’s first World Tour Super 100 title, it was Mei Xing’s first title since she won the Super 300 Syed Modi International with former partner, Anna Cheong.

Meanwhile, it was double joy for the home fans when independent pair Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong clinched the men’s doubles crown.

World No. 52 Hang Yee-Eng Cheong finished runners-up in last year’s edition and made amends this time with a hard fought 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 victory over world No. 42 Americans Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith.

Eng Cheong was delighted to win his first title this year with Hang Yee.

“It feels great to win the title this time after coming close last year,” said Eng Cheong.

“This will give us a lot of confidence moving forward. We hope to build on this win.”

RESULTS

Final

Men’s singles: Chi Yu-jen (Tpe) bt Jason Teh (Sin) 21-12, 21-23, 21-15.

Men’s doubles: Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong (Mas) bt Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith (US) 19-21, 21-15, 21-12.

Women’s singles: Kaoru Sugiyama (Jpn) bt Manami Suizu (Jpn) 21-18, 21-14.

Women’s doubles: Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee (Mas) bt Nicole Chan-Yang Chu-yun (Tpe) 22-20, 21-11.

Mixed doubles: Ye Hong-wei-Nicole Chan (Tpe) bt Yuichi Shimogami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) 21-19, 12-21, 22-20.

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Maiden win for women’s doubles pair at Malaysia Super 100

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles shuttlers Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee captured their maiden title together at the Malaysia Super 100.

Mei Xing-Pei Kee rose to the occasion in front of the home fans to beat Taiwan’s Nicole Chan-Yang Chu-yun 22-20 and 21-11 at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara on Sunday (Oct 20).

It was joy for Mei Xing-Pei Kee after they suffered early-round defeats in all their previous tournaments since officially forming a permanent partnership in June.

It was the 22-year-old Pei Kee’s first ever World Tour Super 100 title while Mei Xing, 27 last emerged as champion with previous partner Anna Cheong in the Super 300 Syed Modi International in 2022.

Independent men’s doubles pair Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong made it a double joy for the home fans when they fought hard to beat American duo Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith 19-21, 21-15, 21-12.

It was Hang Yee-Eng Cheong’s first title this year and they made amends after finishing runners-up in last year’s edition.

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BAM drops 13 players from senior team

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have decided to drop 13 players from the senior team.

The men’s singles squad underwent the most changes with Chua Kim Sheng, Ong Zhen Yi, Jacky Kok and Jan Jireh Lee all ruthlessly dropped.

Only Ng Tze Yong, Leong Jun Hao, Justin Hoh and Eogene Ewe have been retained.

Siti Nurshuhaini Azman and Ung Yi Xing have been dropped from the women’s singles squad while K. Letshanaa, Wong Ling Ching, Oo Shan Zi and Siti Zulaikha Azmi have been retained.

The others dropped are Beh Chun Meng, Choi Jian Sheng (men’s doubles), Anna Cheong, Low Yeen Yuan (women’s doubles), Jeremy Juan, V. Poopathi and Lai Ting Chen (mixed doubles).

Meanwhile, women’s doubles players Teoh Mei Xing, Go Pei Kee, Lee Xin Jie, Tan Zhing Yi, Cheng Su Hui, Amanda Yap, Chan Wen Tse, Chong Jie Yu, Vanessa Ng and Vannee Gobi will only know their fates after they are evaluable by a new head coach.

BAM are looking for a new head coach for the women’s doubles and singles squads.

For now, only national No. 1 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are assured of their places in the women’s doubles team.

In total, BAM have retained 34 players for the 2025 season for now.

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