Malaysia's world No 1 pair prevail over Indons to make the semis

Posted by Lucas Liau News, Top News 9:04 AM

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s world number one pair of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong survived to play another day but it was all over for Mohd Hafiz Hashim in the Taiwan Open yesterday.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong survived the onslaught by Luluk Hadiyanto-Candra Wijaya of Indonesia to prevail 21-19, 19-21, 21-19 in the quarter-finals.
The top-seeded Malaysians can expect an even tougher assignment today as they will be up against South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung.
The Malaysians have not beaten the Koreans over the last two years.

Surprisingly, Kien Keat-Boon Heong have lost seven times to the Koreans since their last win at the Macau Open in 2007.
Ending their two-year losing streak against the Koreans will certainly give the Malaysians a timely boost ahead of the World Championships, which will be held in Paris from Aug 23-29.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who will the top seeds at the world meet, have yet to win a title since their Malaysian Open triumph in January.
A win is just as important for Yong-dae-Jae-sung. Yong-dae is returning from an elbow injury which saw him miss some major tournaments since March. The youngster made a return with his older partner Jae-sung at the Macau Open last week but they crashed out in the opening round.
All the other Malaysians – Hafiz, Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty and Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah – crashed out yesterday.
Hafiz was a huge letdown, losing 19-21, 11-21 to top seed Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam.
Former All-England champion Hafiz used to beat Tien Minh at will at one time but it looks like the good times are over for the Malaysian.
National coach Hendrawan tried to put a positive spin to Hafiz’s defeat, saying the shuttler had more than one enemy to contend with.
“He could not control the shuttle. It was fast and the strong draught in the stadium did not help. This led Hafiz playing to the rhythm set by Tien Minh,” Hendrawan said in a telephone interview.
Asked what Hafiz should do to get his game back on track, Hendrawan said: “He should maintain his condition and stay away from injuries. That is the most important thing. The focus will now be at training in London. He will leave with others on Wednesday.”
All the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) shuttlers who have qualified for the world meet will be training at Bath University from Aug 10-20.
Pei Tty failed to come good with Eei Hui in her last tournament before going for a knee surgery when they bowed out 20-22, 18-21 to Japan’s Eto Rie-Wakita Yu in the quarter-finals.
Veterans Tan Fook-Wan Wah gave a fighting display but failed to end the gallant run of Taiwan’s Fang Chieh-min-Lee Sheng-mu, losing 21-19, 24-26, 19-21 in 47 minutes.
Quarter-final results:
Men’s singles: Nguyen Tien Minh (Vie) bt Mohd Hafiz Hashim (Mas) 21-19, 21-11; Simon Santoso (Ina) bt Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Tha) 21-17, 21-15; Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka (Ina) bt Wong Wing Ki (Hkg) 21-13, 17-21, 21-13; Shon Wanho (Kor) bt Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) 21-16, 19-21, 21-19.
Men’s doubles: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (Mas) bt Luluk Hadiyanto-Candra Wijaya(Ina) 21-19, 19-21, 21-19; Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung (Kor) bt Chen Hong-ling-Lin Yu-lang (Tpe) 21-15, 21-12; Fang Chieh-min-Lee Sheng-mu (Tpe) bt Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah (Mas) 19-21, 26-24, 21-19; Cho Gun-woo-Kwon Yi-goo (Kor) bt Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama-Wong Wai Hong (Hkg) 14-21, 25-23, 21-15.
Women’s singles: Cheng Shao-chieh-Ying Taitzu (Tpe) 21-19, 21-12; Bao Youn-joo (Kor) bt Yu Hirayama (Jpn) 21-10, 21-13; Bae Seung-hee (Kor) bt Kaori Imabeppu (Jpn) 21-19, 21-12; Aprillia Yuswandari (Ina) bt Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) 25-23, 9-21, 21-17. Women’s doubles: Eto Rie- Wakita Yu (Jpn) bt Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty (Mas) 22-20, 21-18; Lee Kyung-won-Yoo Hyun-young (Kor) bt Pia Zebadiah Bernadet-Debby Susanto (Ina) 21-14, 21-8; Kim Min-jung-Lee Hyo-jung (Kor) bt Meiliana Jauhari-Greysia Polii (Ina) 21-13, 21-19; Cheng Wen-hsing-Chien Yu-chin-Chiang Kai Hsin-Peng Hsiao-chu (Tpe) 21-8, 21-16.
Mixed doubles: Hendra Gunawan-Vita Marissa (Ina) bt Sudket Prapakamol-T. Saralee (Tha) 19-21, 21-17, 21-12; Fran Kurniawan-Pia Zebadiah Bernadet (Ina) bt Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) 16-21, 21-13, 21-19; Chen Hong-ling-Cheng Wen-shing (Tpe) bt A. Songphon-V. Kunchala (Tha) 21-17, 21-14; Tontowi Ahmad-Lilyana Natsit (Ina) bt Lee Yong-dae-Lee Hyo-jung (Kor) 13-21, 21-11, 21-10.