Top mixed doubles pair Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet will take to the courts for the first time in four months when the Asia Championships begin in Manila on Tuesday. After a successful trip in December to the World Championships, at which they clinched a bronze medal , Tang and Tse will be aiming to prove in the Philippines that they remain among the world’s best. Their plans for this year were turned upside down when the tournament was scheduled at short notice, with vital ranking points on offer, but they will be hoping for a post-holiday bounce. “I feel very excited about getting back to competition after such a long break,” said Tang before their departure last Friday. “Late last year, we played seven tournaments in three months and it was so exhausting that we were desperate for a break, because we have never experienced that kind of schedule before. But now we are eager to play again.” With the Asian Games in Hangzhou looming in September and dominating this year, head coach Tim He Yiming wanted to rest 30-year-old Tse and partner Tang, 27. He planned to put the pair – who finished in fourth place at the Tokyo Olympic Games last summer – back on the world tour in June. However, March’s announcement of the Asia Championships prompted a change of plan. “The Asia Championships caught us by surprise a bit, because we only knew about it at very short notice,” Tse said. “Our preparation was not 100 per cent, because of the latest wave of Covid-19 in Hong Kong and the closure of training facilities. “But the tournament is set as a Super 1,000 event at the highest level, offering big ranking points like those at the All England Open, which we can hardly miss or it may affect our world rankings. “Also, having watched other players in action during this period, we want to test ourselves.” Badminton Worlds bronze winner Tse’s age a concern, says coach Tse said it would be difficult to predict their performance level after not playing for a long time, and the most important thing was to get back into competition mode. “We won’t set any target in Manila – just do our best and see how far we can go,” she said. Hong Kong is sending a team of 21 across all five disciplines at the tournament. Lee Cheuk-yiu will be leading the way in the men’s singles, with Angus Ng Ka-long absent after returning from the European tour, where he suffered Covid-19. The women’s singles will feature youngsters Yeung Sum-yee and Saloni Samir Mehta, while there are three Hong Kong pairs in the men’s doubles, four in the women’s doubles and three in the mixed doubles. “Lee Cheuk-yiu will be aiming for a quarter-final place in the men’s singles – the same as Tse and Tang in the mixed doubles,” head coach He said. “Most of the others are young players and they will just do their best against their regional counterparts.”