Boon Heong says break vital to regroup and make changes

Posted by Lucas Liau Top News 1:47 PM

PETALING JAYA: Doubles shuttler Tan Boon Heong is glad to get some time out from international competitions to allow him and his partner Koo Kien Keat restore their confidence.
And he hopes that a solid three-week training at Stadium Juara will trigger a change in their game and attitude “and set us back on our winning ways again”.
After a miserable run in January, Boon Heong-Kien Keat are hoping to end their winless run at the German Open Grand Prix Gold from March 1-6 and the All-England from March 8-13.

“Finally, Kien Keat and I will have some time to take a step back and focus on our game in training at home. We have been running from one tournament to another for some time,” said Boon Heong.
“Our coaches, Rexy Mainaky and Rosman Razak, have planned a gruelling training schedule for us this month and we are ready for anything. Ultimately, we want to start winning again.”
Boon Heong-Kien Keat last won a Super Series title at the Malaysia Open last year.
They failed to retain it this year following a shock defeat to China’s Hong Wei-Shen Ye in the opening round at Bukit Jalil.
Prior to that, they also fared miserably at the Super Series Masters Finals in Taipei.
The duo salvaged some pride when they exacted revenge on Hong Wei-Shen Ye in the South Korea Open.
However, the way they lost to South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung in the semi-finals in Seoul clearly showed that they have lost the sting in their game.
With the duo in such uninspiring form, they are unlikely to be among the medal contenders at this year’s World Championships in London in August. They can also expect a torrid time at the next year’s Olympic Games at the same venue.
“Currently, Yong-dae-Jae-sung are looking very confident.
“They played well to pressure us from the start and we could not handle that. They punched holes in our defence. But we know what we did wrong,” said Boon Heong.
“Our morale is down because of all the disappointments last month. But we are also confident that we will rise again. This quiet time at home will certainly do a world of good for us.”
Having dropped five rungs to be placed in fifth spot in the world rankings, Boon Heong said they first target would be to stop the slide.
“In May, the Olympic qualifying period will begin and we cannot afford to slip further down the rankings. It is our intention to stay in in the top five,” said Boon Heong.
The four top pairs ahead of them are world No. 1 Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark, followed by South Koreans Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong and Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung and Indonesians Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan.
While waiting for his international assignments in Europe next month, Boon Heong will switch his attention to the National Grand Prix Finals in Kuala Terengganu from Feb 18-21.
He will partner Hoon Thien How in the men’s doubles and Chin Eei Hui in the mixed doubles.
Kien Keat did not qualify for both the events.
Boon Heong-Kien Keat and the other national shuttlers will begin their training session today after a one-week break for the Chinese New Year celebrations.