Koo-Tan seek fifth title after hammering Taiwanese
News 10:03 AM
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong will take a shot at nailing their fifth title of the year after storming into the China Open final in Shanghai yesterday.
The top seeded Malaysians carved out an impressive 21-15, 21-13 win over Taiwanese Chen Hong-ling-Lin Yu-lang to secure a first appearance in the final of a China Open.
The Taiwanese had adapted well to the slow shuttle conditions in previous matches but it did not looked that way yesterday as Kien Keat-Boon Heong dominated the proceedings to pull through in just 26 minutes.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong will next face top Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung, who edged Danes Carsten Mogensen-Mathias Boe 21-16, 19-21, 23-12 yesterday.
The Malaysians benefited from the exit of Olympic and world champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan to earn an easier semi-final against Hong-ling-Yu-lang. The top Indonesians were eliminated in the second round by Taiwanese Lee Sheng-mu-Fang Chieh-min, who in turn were beaten by compatriots Hong-ling-Yu-lang.
Malaysian doubles coach Rosman Razak hoped that Kien Keat-Boon Heong would go all the way to bag the title.
“Kien Keat-Boon Heong looked very relaxed today,” said Rosman in a telephone interview from Shanghai yesterday.
“Tactically, everything worked well. Their job was made easier as the Taiwanese pair were tense today.”
Kien Keat came down with cramps in the late stages of Friday’s bruising quarter-final match against South Koreans Cho Gun-woo-Shin Baek-cheol but Rosman said that the situation was under control, thanks to the medical support team.
“We have our own support services and this is where we can see the difference. It is still not 100% but it helps a lot and Kien Keat was able to play without any ill effects,” he added.
On the final against the Koreans, Boon Heong said: “We do not have a good record against them. The last time we played against them was in the Malaysian Open this year and we were beaten in the semi-finals.”
Kien Keat-Boon Heong won the Swiss Open, Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold, Macau Open and Denmark Open titles this year. They finished as the runners-up in the French Open last month and were quarter-finalists in the Hong Kong Open last week.
Meanwhile, women’s doubles pair Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty failed in their bid to repeat their feat of reaching the final last year when they lost 17-21, 8-21 to China’s Qing Tian-Zhang Yawen in the semi-finals.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 10:03 AM.
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