Badminton World Championships bronze medallist Tse Ying-suet’s age a concern, says Hong Kong coach
- Now 30, mixed doubles player will face more difficulties in new season but younger partner Tang Chun-man can help, insists head coach
- Pair undergoing hotel quarantine following end of consistent season with semis in Olympics, World Championships and World Tour Finals
Badminton World Championships bronze medallists Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet will face more difficulties in the new season, as head coach Tim He Yiming remained cautious about their development in 2022.
The mixed doubles pair returned to Hong Kong on Tuesday after reaching the semi-finals in Huelva, Spain where they were beaten by eventual world champions Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand in three games.
Along with their fellow Hong Kong team members Angus Ng Ka-long, Lee Cheuk-yiu, Chang Tak-ching, Ng Wing-yung and Yip Pui-yin, they are now undergoing a 21-day hotel quarantine as requested by the government under Covid-19 pandemic control measures.
But head coach He had already decided to skip next month’s first two tournaments of the new season in India and the team will not start until March when the circuit resumes in Europe, with the prestigious All England Championships the major target.
While the mixed doubles pair equalled their best record of finishing in joint-third place at the Worlds in Spain, as they did in the 2018 Worlds in Nanjing, the coach is more concerned about Tse’s age.
“Tse has reached 30 and age is obviously a problem,” He said. “But Tang is 26 and still has room for development. He must take up more responsibilities on court so that the pair can continue to improve.
“When they first started four years ago, they shared equal responsibility on court and now Tang has taken up 60 per cent and will probably take more as they start in the new season. We have already prepared for that and made adjustments in our training.