KUALA LUMPUR: Taiwan Open champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei climbed to their career-best No 15 in the latest world rankings released on Tuesday, as Malaysian top men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia slumped to No 14 to mark his worst position since March 2020.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei continued their steady rise by improving four more rungs, thanks to their second victory on the World Tour in Taiwan on Sunday.
It was certainly a remarkable feat considering they have just started their partnership in late November last year.
Starting the year at No 147, Tang Jie-Ee Wei picked up substantial points not only through hard-earned Super 300 titles that included their breakthrough at Orleans Masters in April but backed by also their notable outings at the Malaysia Open (Super 1000, quarter-finals) in January and Singapore Open (Super 500, semi-finals) earlier this month.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei are now the second-highest ranked mixed doubles pair in the country behind world No 7 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie.
With a packed schedule lining up between July and August, Tang Jie-Ee Wei have a genuine chance of breaking into the top 10 by September if they do well in the tournaments.
In that duration, BA of Malaysia (BAM) have signed them up for the Korea Open (Super 500), Japan Open (Super 750), Australia Open (Super 500) and the World Championships, the highest-tier BWF tournament which offers the same points as the Olympics.
Similarly, the opportunity is there for the taking for Zii Jia in these four events for him to stop the rot and possibly regain his place in the top 10.
The only consolation for Zii Jia is that he's unlikely to drop out of top 20 at least for the next two months.
Ng Tze Yong slipped one rung to No 21 while Cheam June Wei moved up by three rungs to No 41.
Despite being crowned the Taiwan Open men's doubles champions for the second year running, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun remained at No 23.
Points earned from their semi-final showing in Taiwan barely made the difference for Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi as they remained No 6 and second-best Malaysian combination to No 4 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, the Indonesia Open finalists last week.
As expected, there was no movement for the world No 12 women's doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, who last played at the Singapore Open. Professionals Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien are a distant second at No 25.
In the women's singles, Goh Jin Wei dropped from No 30 to No 34 with S. Kisona and K. Letshanaa coming in second and third-best placed Malaysians in No 60 and No 69.
