KUALA LUMPUR: It was mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei's last shot at taking the shine off the Chinese legends.
But the Malaysian pair found that Olympic champions Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong were just too strong, too wily.
In the end, Tang Jie-Ee Wei had to settle for second place in the World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou today.
Si Wei-Ya Qiong, playing in their last tournament together, had to dig deep into their vast experience to carve out an 21-18, 14-21, 21-17 win over world No. 8 Chen Tang Jie in a nervy 75-minute final.
Si Wei had announced his retirement last month and played with Ya Qiong this week because as Olympic champions, they automatically qualified for the lucrative WTF which offered US$2.5 (RM11.13 million) in prize money.
World No. 3 Si Wei-Ya Qiong didn't play in any World Tour tournaments after their Paris Olympics triumph in August, and had not trained together for the last four months. They might not have been in top condition, but Tang Jie-Ee Wei were unable to take advantage.
Instead, the Malaysian duo were left rueing that they had now lost all their five career meetings to the Chinese pair.
Si Wei-Ya Qiong's experience in major finals gave them the edge while Tang Jie-Ee Wei's lack of big match temperament was evident, especially during the crucial stages of the third game.
Deep inside, the Malaysians know that they had just missed a golden opportunity to become history makers and had to settle for US$100,000 as the second best.
Tang Jie said: "It was a special memory to share the court with Si Wei-Ya Qiong in their final match, but unfortunately, we couldn't achieve the objective of winning the title.
"We also made some mistakes towards the crucial stage as we were rushing to finish the rallies."
Ee Wei said: "Although we didn't win the title, it is a good breakthrough for us to show that we can get our level higher in future.
"Si Wei-Ya Qiong were more consistent playing the crucial points and this is something we have to learn from them."