Eei Hui eyes strong finish at tailend of her career

eteran doubles shuttler Chin Eei Hui is hoping to accomplish two challenging missions as she enters the final stretch of her 10-year journey with the national team.
The 29-year-old is bent on seeing her partnership with best buddie Wong Pei Tty hit greater heights at the Uber Cup qualifying tournament in Macau (Feb 13-19) and the Olympic Games in London (July 27-Aug 12).
Eei Hui-Pei Tty are the top ranked pair in the Malaysian Uber Cup team.

Enduring pair: What a doubles journey it has been for Chin Eei Hui (right) and Wong Pei Tty.

The duo, who are currently ranked 14th, will have to remain in the top 16 in the next three months if they are to see action at the Olympic Games.
Eei Hui, who made her international debut with Pei Tty in 2002, knows that her career is at its tailend and she is praying for a strong finish.
“This is my 10th year with the national team. Pei Tty and I have come a long way ... and what a journey it has been. There have been ups and downs but I don’t think I can go on after the Olympics,” Eei Hui said after a training session at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
She was thankful, though, that she and Pei Tty had managed to overcome a long list of injuries.
“I have suffered every possible injury that you can think of all these years. Except for my right hand, I have had treatment for all other parts of my body. That is what badminton has done to me,” said the left-hander.
“I have withstood all the pain and I aim to persevere until the Olympics.
“Pei Tty too underwent knee surgery in 2010 and made a stunning comeback last year. She is pushing herself hard as well. It is unfortunate that we have had to face so many challenges in our last year as a pair but we keep on encouraging each other and this is what motivates us to hang in there until the Olympic Games.”
The duo have certainly done Malaysia proud in the last 10 years – especially in overcoming the much-vaunted Chinese and Korean pairs.
Eei Hui-Pei Tty also bagged the SEA Games gold medals in 2005 and 2009; won the 2008 Denmark Open and World Superseries Finals; and emerged champions at the 2009 Indonesia Open.
Eei Hui has also starred in the mixed doubles event, successfully combining with Koo Kien Keat to clinch the gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India.
But there is one “nightmare” she can’t forget.
“I just cannot erase one painful memory from my mind ... the one where Pei Tty and I lost 0-15, 6-15 to Taiwan’s Cheng Wen-shing-Chien Yu-chin in the 2004 Korean Open.
“I still can’t believe we were handed a duck in the opening game,” said Eei Hui.
“We got a tongue-lashing from our coach Cheah Soon Kit then. He lectured us for almost an hour and then withdrew us from the Japan Open. We were kept at home. Then, when we were sent to the Asian Badminton Championships, we were filled with steely determination.
“We beat the same Taiwanese pair en route to a semi-final finish. From then on, we grew in strength and confidence. We will always be grateful to Soon Kit.”
On the team’s chances in the Uber Cup qualifiers, Eei Hui acknowledged that it would be difficult “as we are drawn in Group W with top seeds China and India”.
“China are in a different class all together but we have a 50-50 chance against India. Both our doubles pairs have to win at all costs if we are to have any chance of making the quarter-finals. We need to steal a point from the singles as well,” she said.
The other pairs in the Uber Cup team are Woon Khe Wei-Vivian Hoo and Lim Yin Loo-Goh Liu Ying. The singles players are Tee Jing Yi, Lydia Cheah, Sannatasah Saniru and Yang Li Lian.
A good showing at the Uber Cup and several other tournaments – German Open, All-England, Swiss Open, Australia Open, India Open and Asian Badminton Championships – would set Eei Hui-Pei Tty nicely up for a grand finale – at the London Olympics.
And that would be a fitting farewell indeed.
Courtesy of The Star