We can be No 1 in the world, says Hong Kong’s mixed doubles pair
Tse Ying-suet and Tang Chun-man could be genuine Olympic medal contenders at the Tokyo Games if they continue to improve in leaps and bounds
Hong Kong’s mixed doubles team of Tse Ying-suet and Tang Chun-man have set their sights on becoming the world’s number one pair before the ultimate aim of winning a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
The fast-improving duo are dreaming big and are targeting Hong Kong’s first-ever badminton Olympic medal in Tokyo, which doesn’t seem far fetched given their improvement they have made over the past year.
So far Tse and Tang have been solid together, making the world sit up and take notice with a series of impressive performances in 2017, including a title triumph at the 2017 Denmark Open, one of the premier events on the world tour. They also finished runners-up in the year-end superseries finals in Dubai and won the Malaysian Masters in Kuala Lumpur in January to kick-start their 2018 campaign in style.
And the pair will now take centre-stage at the sport’s oldest tournament at this month’s US$1 million All England Open in Birmingham, where they are seeded third in mixed doubles. It’s the perfect setting to showcase their skills, their first major tournament for 2018.
“After playing together regularly and facing many of the world’s leading pairs over the last six months, we are confident of stepping up with the aim of eventually reaching the top of the world rankings,” said Tse, who will leave Hong Kong with her partner on Sunday for the German Open, a warm-up event before the Birmingham showpiece.