Koo-Tan face stern test in German Open

Posted by Lucas Liau Top News 9:19 AM

PETALING JAYA: Korean pairs Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong and Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung stand in the way of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong in getting a timely confidence boost in the German Open beginning today in Mulheim.
The Malaysian No. 1 have fallen out of the top four in the world rankings for the first time in two years after two disastrous results in recent months and need to halt the slide in form before they play in the All-England next week.
Kien Keat-Booon Heong, who are now ranked fifth in the world, failed to reach the semi-finals of the Super Series Masters Finals in Taiwan and crashed out in the first round of the Malaysian Open last month.

That cost them the No. 1 spot they had held for more than a year. But they bounced back by reaching the semi-finals at the South Korea Open, losing to eventual winners Yong-dae-Jae-sung.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong will surely relish the chance at the German Open to avenge their recent defeats by the two Korean pairs in the absence of top Danes Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen, Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia and China’s No. 1 Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun.
Third seeded Kien Keat-Boon Heong open their campaign against Japan’s Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa and will have to tread with caution against China’s Liu Xiaolong-Qiu Yihan if they reach the second round.
They should have no business losing in the early rounds of the German Open if they fancy a crack at lifting a second All-England title.
But they will face their strongest test entering the last four where Yong-dae-Jae-sung should be waiting for them while Sung-hyun-Yeon-seong should make the final as the top seeds.
Doubles coach Rosman Razak said that the German Open would be treated as a warm-up tournament ahead of the All-England.
“It will be great if Kien Keat-Boon Heong can overcome a Korean pair in the German Open. But they should not be too worried if they fail,” he said in a telephone interview from Mulheim.
“They were entered for the German Open as they did not play together in any competition outside the country last month.
“The objective is for them to win at the All-England. It’s good that they are not carrying any injuries. Rexy (Mainaky, the chief coach for the national doubles players) and I will see whether adjustments need to be made to their game after the German Open before we cross over to England.”
Two other Malaysian pairs – Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Ong Soon Hock and Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Hoon Thien How – are in the half of the draw with Sung-hyun-Yeon-seong.
With world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei opting out of the German Open, Olympic and Asian Games champion Lin Dan is the hot pick to claim a second title of the year after the Korea Open.
But it still very much depends on how serious the Chinese superstar treats his participation in the tournament, especially if he comes up against his compatriots. The other top ranked Chinese in the fray is world champion Chen Jin, who is seeded second.
The Malaysian men’s singles entries are Liew Daren and Chan Kwong Beng.