On January 7th, Beijing time, the first event of the 2025 World Badminton Federation, the Malaysia Badminton Open, kicked off. In the first round of men's doubles, the national badminton team combination of He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu faced a tough battle against the English combination of Lane/Wendy. He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu suffered a single-game big comeback with a 7-point lead in the first game, narrowly losing 21-23. The score in the second game was still very close, and He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu managed to level the match with a 21-19 victory. In the decisive game, Lane/Wendy took the lead, and He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu chased to 11-15. However, after a medical timeout, He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu lost six points in a row, collapsing at the end of the game from 11-15 to 11-21. They ultimately lost the decisive game 11-21 after a grueling three-set match that lasted 71 minutes, ending their campaign in the first round of the new season's opening event with a 1-2 defeat to Lane/Wendy.
In last season's year-end finals, He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu became the only pair of men's doubles to qualify for the national badminton team. However, due to a waist injury, they chose to withdraw after suffering consecutive losses in the first two rounds of the group stage. Now, after a period of rest and recuperation, Ren Xiangyu's waist injury should have been well treated and recovered. In the opening match of the new season, He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu joined the national badminton team to participate in the Super 1000 Malaysia Badminton Open. The world No. 7 He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu were listed as the No. 6 seed in this event, alongside the world's top-ranked Danish pair of Astrup/Rasmussen in the 1/4 area. In the first round, He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu faced the English combination of Lane/Wendy, ranked 13th in the world. Considering that Ren Xiangyu's waist injury has improved, we are relatively optimistic about He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu's prospects for victory in this new season debut.
After the opening, He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu took two points in a row with strong attacks, showing a new look in the New Year, indeed playing with great momentum, leading by as many as 7 points at 16-9 at one point. However, under a large lead, He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu became complacent, especially in the final stages of the game. They led 19-14 but were caught up by the English combination of Lane/Wendy, who scored four points in a row to reach 18-19. Although He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu still took the set point first at 20-18, they failed to win the next two set points in a row. They also failed to convert the third set point they got again at 21-20. Lane/Wendy seized the opportunity to gain momentum and scored three points in a row, eventually completing a big comeback in the first game with a 23-21 victory.
The big comeback in the first game was a huge blow to He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu's morale. Fortunately, in the second game, they managed to stabilize their mentality. In the tense score of 19-19 at the end of the game, He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu seized the key points and won two points in a row to narrowly win 21-19 and level the match. In the decisive game, Lane/Wendy took the lead with a small climax to open the score, and He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu chased to 11-15. The English combination of Lane/Wendy then applied for a medical timeout. After the timeout, He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu's momentum of scoring stopped, and they lost six points in a row due to continuous mistakes, collapsing at the end of the game and losing the decisive game 11-21. They ultimately lost to Lane/Wendy with a total score of 1-2, ending their journey in the first event of the new season in the first round of men's doubles.
