Former Malaysian mixed doubles star Goh Liu Ying recently believes that although the Chinese team will swap partners between the world's top two mixed doubles pairs at the All England Badminton Super 1000 in Birmingham from 11 to 16 March, the Chinese mixed doubles will still pose a huge challenge to other opponents.

In the new season, Feng Yanzhe (left) and Huang Dongping finished runners-up in the Malaysia Badminton Super 1000 last month

Despite having world No. 1 mixed doubles pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping and world No. 2 Zhen Xin Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin, they have decided to restructure their mixed doubles pairings in the tournament, which has been famous for more than 100 years. Feng Yanzhe will be partnered with Wei Yaxin, while Tokyo Olympic champion Huang Dongping will be partnered with Jiang Zhenbang.

However, Goh, who won the mixed doubles silver medal with Tan Peng Soon at Rio 2016, believes the Malaysians will still face a huge challenge against the two new Chinese mixed doubles pairs.

Malaysia's top 15 pairs of Mixed Doubles pairs are the world's No. 3 Tan Tang Kit and Du Yi Wei, the world No. 4 Valve Min pair Goh Xun Valve and Lai Kit Min, and the world No. 15 Rong Yun pair Koh Pang Wing and Chung Shu Yun, all likely to face Feng Yan Zhe and Wei Yaxin or Jiang Zhenbang and Huang Dongping in the draw. The 35-year-old said: "Even if China dismantles the original world's top two mixed doubles pairs, it will never be easy to face the Chinese pairs. "I don't think it's going to have any impact on the Chinese team, they have thought it out. It can be said that the two pairs are evenly matched, and perhaps China is looking for the strongest combination. ”

Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin (left) won the India Badminton Super 750 in January.

In the new season, Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping finished runners-up at last month's Malaysia Badminton Super 1000 Tournament, where they lost to Thailand's newcomers Dechapo and Subi Sarah in the final, while Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin won the Indian Badminton Super 750 tournament afterwards. However, the Chinese coaching staff still does not seem to have enough confidence in the Phoenix and Zhenxin pairs, both of whom are expected to succeed the legendary Chinese mixed doubles pair of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, who retired at the end of last year.

The IELTS duo has dominated the mixed doubles scene for a long time, winning gold at Paris 2024, the Badminton World Championships in 2018, 2019 and 2022, gold medals at the 2018 and 2022 Asian Games, and three All England titles (2019, 2023 and 2024). Phoenix and Zhenxin have never reached the top in Birmingham before, with Huang Dongping finishing runners-up with former partner Wang Yilyu in 2022.

On the other hand, Malaysian Mixed Doubles has so far failed to win the All England Championships, with only Chong Yew Leong partnering England's Joan White to win the title in 1953. Malaysia's best mixed doubles performance in recent years has come from the 'Shun Ying pair' Tan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying, who finished runners-up in the 2017 final after losing 2-1 to China's Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong. The last player to win the All England Championships was Li Zijia in the men's singles, who upset Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the 2021 final. The draw for this year's All England Championships will take place on 4 March.