Chen Tang Jie (left)-Peck Yen Wei in action in the doubles final of the India Open in New Delhi on Sunday. -Pic courtesy of Badminton Photo
Chen Tang Jie (left)-Peck Yen Wei in action in the doubles final of the India Open in New Delhi on Sunday. -Pic courtesy of Badminton Photo

On paper, it felt like another blow to Malaysian badminton after mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei fell short in the India Open in losing to Singapore's Terry Hee-Tan Wei Han in the final.

It was certainly a crowning moment for the world No 182 Terry-Wei Han, whose 21-15, 21-18 win saw them claim a first BWF World Tour title in New Delhi on Sunday.

Netizens will also be quick to point out that the 26-year-old Terry is also a Penang-born, making it yet another case of one that got away.

It has certainly been the case ever since Penang-born Singaporean Loh Kean Yew made history by clinching the World Championships last month.

But despite that, the young Malaysian pairing can be proud of their achievement, especially since their opponents were not newcomers to the scene.

The Singapore pair have been playing together for eight years and were ranked as high as No 15 in the world in 2017 before their progress got sidetracked after Terry had to serve two years of national service.

In comparison, Tang Jie-Yen Wei have barely played together for two years and yet have performed incredibly well in reaching their first World Tour final, including beating compatriots and world No 10 Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing in the semi-finals.

"I think we can be satisfied with our overall performance in India as it is also our first Super 500 final," said Yen Wei.

"Unfortunately though, we did not manage to finish as champions, but we certainly learned a lot from this outing.

"I feel that we can definitely do better in the future, and our goal now is to climb the rankings.

"Hopefully, we'll break into the top 20 soon as there are many major events this year.

"But for now, we are just focused on the Syed Modi India International."

Tang Jie-Yen Wei are the second seeds for the Syed Modi meet, a Super 300 event, which starts in Lucknow today.

The pair play India's Pratik Ranade-Kanika Kanwal in the first round.

If all things progress smoothly, they will have a chance for revenge against Terry-Wei Han in the quarter-finals.

The other Malaysians in action are Ng Tze Yong, Soong Joo Ven, Cheam June Wei (men's singles), Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, Arif Junaidi-Haikal Nazri, Lim Khim Wah-Nur Azriyn Ayub (doubles), Valeree Siow-Low Yeen Yuan, Anna Cheong-Teoh Mei Xing, Go Pei Kee-Yap Ling, Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien (women's doubles) and Chan Peng Soon-Valeree (mixed doubles).