TANG JIE-EE WEI RESTED TEMPORARILY, SAYS COACH

KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Bernama) -- National badminton mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have been rested temporarily from tournaments due to an ongoing cold war between them now.

National mixed doubles head coach Nova Widianto said that he personally made the decision to allow the world number four pair to stop their strained ties on court.

Nova pointed out that their relationship has been strained since the 2024 Paris Olympics, which marked their debut at the prestigious global meet, which ended in the quarterfinals after losing to South Korea's Kim Won Ho-Jeong Na Eun 19-21, 14-21.

“This issue (lack of understanding between tem ) has been lingering for some time; for instance, when results are not good, it may stem from poor relations.

“Perhaps the issue arose because expectations are getting higher for them. In the beginning, they were focused on climbing the rankings, so losing was acceptable, but now with heightened expectations, it may be harder to handle,” he said after the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Performance Task Force committee meeting here today,  which also reviewed Malaysia's disastrous outing at the 2025 All England Championships.

Nova stated that the temporary suspension means they will miss the 2025 Badminton Asia Championships scheduled to be held in Ningbo, China, from April 8-13.

If Tang Jie and Ee Wei's relationship does not improve, Nova does not rule out the possibility of pairing them with younger players for the 2025 Taiwan Open and the 2025 Thailand Open in May.

“If there is no change, we have to split (the pair), as this situation might recur,” he added.

Asked if the pair had requested to be separated, Nova shared that Tang Jie and Ee Wei had indeed expressed the desire to do so as they struggle to control their emotions around each other.

Recently, Ee Wei deleted all photos with Tang Jie from her Instagram after their first-round defeat at the 2025 All England Open, further fuelling speculation about a feud between the duo.

Tang Jie and Ee Wei lost to Indonesia's Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja 21-18, 20-22, 11-21, in the world's oldest badminton championship held in Birmingham.

Meanwhile, BAM acting president Datuk V. Subramaniam said an important announcement will be made after the association’s executive committee meeting tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA