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When her mixed doubles partner retired in March, Lai Pei Jing, at 33 years old, had no intention of hanging up her racquet.
And unexpectedly she scripted a heartwarming story for Malaysian badminton after getting a new partner in the untested Jimmy Wong.
Pei Jing is now glad that she didn’t take the easy way out of retiring alongside her long-time partner Tan Kian Meng, who called it quits after their All England first-round exit five months ago. Pei Jing and Kian Meng were once ranked as high as world No. 5.
Kian Meng has moved on into the online business and is also doing short-term doubles coaching with Badminton England until September.
At the other end, Pei Jing started from scratch again, looking for a new partner, and found the 22-year-old Jimmy.
Formerly a men’s doubles player, Jimmy was also without a partner, and he eventually switched to the mixed doubles, joining Pei Jing.
They began by playing in lower-tier International Series (IS) and International Challenge (IC) events, and finished runners-up at the Vietnam IC, Phuket IS and Reunion Open (IC), to build up enough world ranking points to be eligible for last week’s Macau Open.
In Macau, Pei Jing-Jimmy seized their chance. They defied the odds, stunning China‘s world No. 12 Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi in the last eight before finishing second to Denmark’s former world No. 4 Mathias Christensen-Alexandra Boje.
Currently ranked world No. 127, Pei Jing-Jimmy will break into the world’s top 100 when the weekly ranking list is released by BWF on Tuesday.
Pei Jing thanked her coach, Ameer Zainuddin, the brother of national women’s singles coach Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin, and her physiotherapist, Kheng Fang Yong, after she and Jimmy reached the Macau Open final.
“Never expected that our first Super 300 to be this amazing. Absolutely feeling awesome and blessed to be back on the tour again!” wrote Pei Jing on Instagram.
“Thank you coach @ameerzainuddin for the guidance — you know it’s not easy to look after naughty kids like us.
“Thanks @khengfangyong for taking care of our body well all the time, especially the Baby Hulk (Jimmy).
“Gratitude to my partner Jimmy for working so hard in the matches. The hard work has paid off and let’s enjoy the moment. Teamwork makes dream work. Let’s stay humble, always stay hungry and keep fighting.”
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
