THE lights went out on Malaysians Koo Kien Keat’s and Tan Boon Heong’s hopes to become the country’s first world champions in the glowing city of Paris yesterday.
The most awaited historic moment slipped through their fingers in a fighting 21-18, 18-21, 14-21 defeat by defending champions Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China in the men’s doubles final that lasted 63 minutes.
It was the third world title for Cai Yun-Haifeng and their victory gave China a clean sweep of the five titles at stake for the second time in the series after the 1987 championships in Beijing.
For Malaysia, they settled for a fourth silver medal in the men’s doubles since the championships were introduced in 1977.
Boon Heong admitted that they blew a golden chance to nail an elusive title for Malaysia.
“It’s not always that you get the chance to play in a final. We made the breakthrough but there was no happy ending for us,” lamented Boon Heong.
It all started so well for the world No. 1 against the Chinese, whom they have beaten in three of eight previous meetings.
In the first game, both pairs exchanged leads. They were levelled at 18-18 and the Malaysians showed great confidence and concentration to win it.
“It was great to get off to a good start but we got into problems in the second game. We were too eager to win and attacked without any game plan,” said Boon Heong.
The Chinese regained control and was on top of their game.
And each time the Malaysians inched closer, Cai Yun-Haifeng will hit home some superb winners to stay ahead.
The fans at the Pierre de Courbertin Stadium were mostly rooting for the Malaysians to upset the Chinese in the rubber game, but the Malaysians’ defence weakened while the Chinese grew stronger in attacks and went on to win the match.
“We lost our confidence in the third game. And it was too tough to fight back after trailing by a big margin,” said Boon Heong.
Kien Keat said that they would shift their concentration to the defence of the Asian Games title in Guangzhou in November.
“It is sad that we could not end the long wait for a world title for the country.
We were mentally prepared but it is unfortunate that we did not have a good finish,” he said.
“We were the Asian Games champions four years ago. We will go back and work towards hitting peak form in Guangzhou. Along the way, we also hope to do well in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games (October).”
The Malaysians will return home on Wednesday.

ODENSE: Europe must be Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong’s favourite hunting ground.

Yesterday, the second seeds checked into the men’s doubles final of the Denmark Open by defeating China’s second stringers Sun Junjie-Tao Jiaming 21-14, 21-16 in a lop-sided 23-minute match.

The Malaysians’ final foes will be Denmark’s second seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen, who will surely have the backing of the home crowd.

Yesterday, Boe-Mogensen achieved a breakthrough when they stunned Olympic champions and top seeds Mar­kis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia 21-16, 21-19 in the last four.

If the Danes win, it will be their first home title.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who won the Denmark Open two years ago, are seeking their second Super Series title this year after winning the Swiss Open in March.

Kien Keat said they were satisfied with their performances thus far.

“It is great to be in the final of a Super Series again. In the previous Super Series in Japan, we lost in the first round ... it was important to make amends here,” said Kien Keat, who also won the Denmark Open crown with Chan Chong Ming in 2005.

“We are familiar with the Danish pair. They defeated us at the All-England and we had our revenge at the Swiss Open.

“We’ve always enjoyed a good outing in Europe and, hopefully, this good run will continue.”

Boon Heong seems just as determined as Kien Keat to clinch the title again.

“We are just a step away from tasting success in the Super Series and, hopefully, we will come good. It’s never easy playing against a local pair in the final in front of their own fans,” said Boon Heong.

Boe-Mogensen hope to spoil the Malaysian party again in Denmark.

Boe, especially, has an extra reason to make it a special day for the hosts. “I been staying in Odense since I was five years old and it will be really nice to achieve something special here,” said the 29-year-old.

“We have played against Koo and Tan many times and lost most of them. They have a slight advantage but I think the race is still wide open.

“Our (Mogensen and my) best achievement in the Denmark Open is a quarter-final finish and this time it will be perfect to win it.”

In the men’s singles, German Marc Zwiebler’s fairytale run continued when he dumped second seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro 21-10, 16-21, 21-15 in a 62-minute energy-sapping match.

He will take on Indonesia’s Simon Santoso, who ended the gallant run of Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen.

KUALA LUMPUR: Doubles shuttler Tan Boon Heong will be competing in the SEA Games for the first time in Vientiane in December.

But an opportunity to end the year with a bang is now far from his mind.

Instead, he wants to regain more consistency in winning honours with Koo Kien Keat beginning with the Denmark Open, which will be played in Odense from Oct 20-25.

The duo will also compete in the last three legs of the Super Series – in France (Oct 27-Nov 1), Hong Kong (Nov 10-15) and China (Nov 17-22).

The 22-year-old said that he wanted to enjoy the good feel of winning tournaments again.

“Inconsistency is still bugging us. I still yearn for the days when we used to do well in tournament after tournament,” said Boon Heong.

“Sometimes, we are unlucky. Sometimes, we put ourselves in trouble.”

Boon Heong did well with Kien Keat to reach the World Championships semi-finals in Hyderabad in August but at the Japan Open in September, they crashed out in the opening round to an unheralded Japanese pair.

“I want to work on my inconsistency before I head for my first SEA Games,” said the Kedahan.

“It is pointless to now think about winning a gold at the regional Games.

“We have to get our act right in the coming Open tournaments first. Hopefully, we can win at least one more Super Series this year.”

In the Super Series season thus far, Boon Heong-Kien Keat were winners at the Swiss Open in March. They have two titles to show from Grand Prix Gold tournaments – in Malaysia and Macau.

Boon Heong-Kien Keat are the second seeds at the Denmark Open and they are expected to take on Indonesians Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki-Rian Sukmawan in the second round.

“We have never lost to them and we hope to keep it that way.

“We hope to grow stronger and better in every match,” said Boon Heong.

In their half of the draw are Danes Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen, compatriots Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif and Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen, and Indonesians Mohd Ahsan-Bona Septano and Alven Yulianto-Hendra Gunawan.

The top seeds are Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s top men’s doubles shuttlers Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif have been warned not to let their guard down in the Japan Open following the withdrawal of several top stars.

Injuries have forced world doubles champions Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng and South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung jae-sung to pull out from the eighth-leg of the Super Series in Tokyo, which begins tomorrow.

In their absence, and barring any early setbacks, an all-Malaysian semi-final between Kien Keat-Boon Heong and Fairuzizuan-Zakry is a possibility.

Despite a smoother path, national doubles coach Rosman Razak preferred to play down their chances and, instead, warned the players to take every match seriously.

“The absence of the world champions and the runners-up has certainly paved the way for the others to have a shot at the title.

“But, sometimes, our players tend to take it easy when the draw seems to favour them,” said Rosman.

Cai Yun-Haifeng conceded a walkover to their compatriots Guo Zhengdong-Xu Chen in the men’s doubles final of the China Masters on Sunday at Changzhou due to an injury to Cai Yun.

The Koreans’ absence from the international stage continues with Yong-dae’s failure to recover in time from his hand injury.

The duo had also skipped last week’s China Masters.

Rosman, however, said that it would be interesting to see the return of Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the Japan Open.

They have been absent from the international circuit since skipping last month’s World Championships, where they were the defending champions.

The duo pulled out because Markis suffered from high blood pressure. For the Japan Open, Kien Keat-Boon Heong will have Singaporeans Hendri Kurniawan Saputra-Hendra Wijaya, Danes Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen and Americans Howard Bach-Tony Gunawan in their quarter.

In Fairuzizuan-Zakry’s quarter are two Indonesians – Mohd Ahsan-Bona Septano and Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki-Rian Sukmawan.

Meanwhile, three-time world champion Lin Dan, who beat Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand for the China Masters men’s singles title on Sunday, will not compete in the Japan Open.

Top seed Lee Chong Wei is the hot favourite although he will have to contend with the fiery on-form Boonsak in the opening round.

KOO Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong displayed an awesome show of power to nail the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold men’s doubles title yesterday.

But to national doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky, the duo’s overall performances in the tournament could have been better.

Yesterday, Kien Keat-Boon Heong blew away former national players and sparring partners Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen with a 21-11, 21-13 win in just 21 minutes. It was their easiest win in the tournament.

But in their two previous matches in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the duo dropped the second game en route to beating China’s Sun Junjie-Tao Jiaming and Indonesians Alven Yulianto-Hendra Gunawan respectively.

Rexy said that he would have to work on Kien Keat’s and Boon Heong’s lack of focus in a match.

“They have done well to win the title but they have the tendency to lose focus in a match,” said Rexy.

“They usually win the first game but drop the second. This allows their opponents to build confidence and momentum to make it even tougher for them. They should not be making life difficult for themselves.

“We have identified the area of their weaknesses and we will build from there.”

Boon Heong said that the win even though it was in a weakened field had given them a timely boost ahead of the World Championships in India in August.

“We have beaten a pair, whom we are so used to playing today. Winning the title easily is still a good boost to our morale,” he said.

It was the second title of the year for Kien Keat-Boon Heong after the Swiss Open in March.

“The intensity of the training will be tougher after this. Kien Keat and I will be prepared for the world championships,” said Boon Heong.

“Kien Keat has won a medal before but I have yet to get one. It will be my second outing in the championships and I hope to get among the medallists.”

Kien Keat has two bronze medals to show from the world championships — in a mixed doubles partnership with Wong Pei Tty in 2006 and with Chan Chong Ming in the men’s doubles in 2005.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong overcame boos and jeers to reach the Indonesian Open men’s doubles quarter-finals with a hard-fought win over China’s Guo Zhengdong-Xu Chen in Jakarta yesterday.

They were one of three Malaysian pairs to clear the second round of the doubles events together with Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif and the women’s combination of Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty.

The third seeded Kien Keat-Boon Heong nearly blew it against the Chinese second ranked pair but remained steady in the crucial stages to pull through.

They came close to squandering a healthy at 17-12 in the rubber before prevailing with a 16-21, 21-14. 22-20 win. They will take on Indonesians Luluk Hadiyanto-Joko Riyadi today for a place in the semi-finals.

National coach Rosman Razak said that he was glad that the Malaysians pulled through despite adversities.

“The atmosphere here is really against Malaysia. No matter who are our opponents, we are booed and jeered,” said Rosman in a telephone interview.

“On top of that, the players also have to overcome the windy conditions in the stadium. I was glad that Koo and Tan hung in there. It was their toughest match thus far. I am confident that they will play better after this.”

Defending champions Fairuzizuan-Zakry, who are playing for the first time together in three months, showed their determination to win in a 21-16, 21-13 demolition of compatriots Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng in 29 minutes.

However, they have a challenging task in the quarter-finals against All-England champions Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung of South Korea.

The Malaysians have never beaten the Koreans and a win today will certainly give them a timely boost ahead of the World Championships, which will be held in Hyderabad from Aug 10-16.

“Fairuzizuan-Zakry are playing well together. We hope that they will keep their momentum going and go all out for a breakthrough here,” said Rosman.

World number one Eei Hui-Pei Tty also made it to the last eight with a 21-9, 19-21, 21-15 win over India’s Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnapa to set up a meeting with Lee Hyo-jung-Lee Kyung-won of South Korea, whom they have never beaten before.

It was the end of the road for Malaysia in the mixed doubles. Kien Keat-Ng Hui Lin and Mohd Razif Abdul Latif-Woon Khe Wei crashed out in straight games against seeded opponents in the second round.

After a fiery start, Kien Keat-Hui Lin ran out of steam and went down 16-21, 17-21 to Olympic champions and second seeds Yong-dae-Lee Hyo-jung while back-up pair Razif-Khe Wei lost 13-21, 19-21 to fourth seeds Thomas Laybourn-Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark.

KUALA LUMPUR: Doubles shuttlers Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong have broken the jinx as a pair in team events as far as chief coach Rexy Mainaky is concerned.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong failed to keep a clean slate in the Sudirman Cup world mixed team championships in Guangzhou when they went down fighting to Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng in the semi-final tie against China on Saturday. With their defeat, Malaysia went down 0-3 to the formidable Chinese.

China had nailed the first two points through He Hanbin-Yu Yang, who defeated Mohd Fairuizizuan Mohd Tazari-Wong Pei Tty in the mixed doubles, and Lin Dan, who beat Lee Chong Wei in the men’s singles.

Despite the failure of Kien Keat-Boon Heong to save the tie, Rexy gave thumbs up to the duo for their fighting display.

“By far, this is Koo-Tan’s best performance in a major team event. They showed positive vibes throughout the match and I am satisfied with that,” said Rexy in a telephone interview from Guangzhou.

Rexy pointed out that the duo had failed to make a mark during the team event at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, 2007 Sudirman Cup in Glasgow and the 2008 Thomas Cup Finals in Jakarta.

“They did well in the 2006 Asiad by winning the individual gold medal. But they played poorly in the earlier team event,” he said.

“They also fared poorly in two other major team events, the previous Sudirman Cup and Thomas Cup Finals. Their defeats led to some to believe that they are not team players.

“But in Guangzhou, the duo showed great team spirit. They lost but not after giving their all. Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng were more experienced and took advantage of the home support.”

Rexy added that he would send Kien Keat-Boon Heong to as many tournaments as possible to get them well prepared for the World Championships in Hyderabad from Aug 10-16.

“Currently, Kien Keat-Boon Heong do not have good and quality sparring at home. They are one class above the other pairs in the country,” he said.

“I had hoped for Fairuzizuan and Mohd Zakry (Abdul Latif) to challenge them but this pair have yet to meet my expectations. They did well in the beginning but have lost focus along the way.”

Kien Keat-Boon Heong have four tournaments lined up for them — the Pahang Open (Kuantan, May 26-29), Singapore Open (June 9-14), Indonesian Open (June 16-21) and Malaysian Gold Grand Prix (Johor Baru, June 23-28).

On the overall performances of the team in Sudirman Cup, Rexy said: “I have been with the team for some time now but I sensed some difference this time. All the players stuck together like a family,” he said.

“I hope that they will maintain this feeling of oneness in the team until the next major team event, the Thomas Cup Finals (next year).”

KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttler Tan Boon Heong can still picture the disappointment on the face of coach Rexy Mainaky after his failure together with Koo Kien Keat to retain the All-England men’s doubles title last year.

And he feels that the best way for them to make up for it is to regain the title to present Rexy an ideal birthday gift.

The All-England begins on Wednesday and Rexy will turn 41 just a day after the prestigious event in Birmingham on March 9.

Boon Heong, who won the title in his maiden appearance with Kien Keat in 2007, said that he had extra motivation to do well in his third outing in the All-England.

“Last year was not an easy year season for the men’s doubles department. Our coach has put in a lot of work to turn things around,” said Boon Heong.

“Once again, the All-England coincides with my coach’s birthday. Rexy said it was his best birthday gift when we won the title two years ago. We let him down last year and Kien Keat and I will do our best to bring him another big birthday cheer.”

Last year, they also failed to defend the Malaysia and Switzerland Open titles in the first half of the season, They then hit the comeback trail. They won the Macau Open in October and the Super Series Masters Finals in Kota Kinabalu in December.

The 22-year-old Boon Heong added that compared to previously, they were better prepared for the challenges in the All-England this time.

“I am more experienced and focused but at the same, I have also learnt to enjoy the game. Eveything falls into place when I take a more relaxed approach,” he said.

“I went to our recent centralised camp in Kuching (last month) with the same mentality and I enjoyed it thoroughly and gained a lot from it.”

Boon Heong said that the absence of Indonesians Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan and South Korean Jung-Jae-sung, who won the title last year with Lee Yong-dae, had not made it easier on the rest of the field.

Without Jae-sung, his younger partner Yong-dae forms a scratch combination with Shin Baek-cheol.

“Anything can happen. Con­sis­tency is the key. The standard of all the top pairs are about the same and one cannot afford to have an off day,” said Boon Heong.

Boon Heong-Kien Keat are seeded third and they are in the same half of the draw as second seeds Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen and Mathias Boe-Carsten Morgensen of Denmark and China’s Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng.

The other half of the draw has Malaysia’s Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif, Yong-dae-Baek-cheol, Eng­land’s Anthony Clark-Nathan Ro­­bert­son and Indonesian youngsters Yonathan Surya­tama Dasuki-Rian Sukmawan and Mohd Ahsan-Bona Septano.

PETALING JAYA: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong have received a boost to their hopes of winning their first title on European soil in almost two years with the absence of Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan from the Swiss Open in Basel from March 10-15.

Kido is still struggling to recover from a knee injury and his participation in the All-England next week with Setiawan is also in doubt.

In the Swiss Open, the top two Malaysian pairs of Kien Keat-Boon Heong and Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Latif, who are seeded second and fourth respectively, will surely be out to capitalise on the absence of the world No. 2 Indonesian pair.

However, Kien Keat-Boon Heong will have to be on guard against the Chinese scratch pair of He Hanbin-Sun Junjie in a likely quarter-final match-up.

The duo should clear their first round hurdle against fellow Malaysians Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen.

Fairuzizuan-Zakry can earn a semi-final battle against Kien Keat-Boon Heong if they can turn the tables on Chinese No. 1 Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun. The duo also have a tricky opening round hurdle against Japanese No. 1 Shuichi Sakamoto-Shintaro Ikeda.

If either Malaysian pair advance to the final, they can expect to meet Danish opponents in either top seeds Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen or third seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen.

The last time Kien Keat-Boon Heong won a title in Europe was in Denmark in October, 2007.

“Compared to the All-England, where we will be playing the Danish pair (Boe-Mogensen) if we reach the quarter-finals, this is slightly better chance for us,” said Boon Heong. “But our focus first is on the All-England. We are feeling good about our chances and we will try to come back with at least one title from Europe.”

While the All-England in Birmingham will see the top Malaysian women’s pair of Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty having to beat the top two Chinese combinations of Du Jing-Yu Yang and Zhang Yawen-Zhao Tingting to make the final, it will be the Korean hurdles lying in wait for them in Basel.

Seeded second, they are likely to face fifth seeds Ha Jung-eun-Kim Min-jung in the quarter-finals and a win could see them going up against Korean No. 1 Lee Hyo-jung-Lee Kyung-won, whom they have never beaten before.

In the men’s singles draw, world number one Lee Chong Wei faces a situation similar to the All-England where he will not be up against a top Chinese shuttler until the final.

However, Chong Wei will have to overcome tough hurdles in Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Dane Peter Gade-Christensen to earn an anticipated final clash with Olympic champion Lin Dan.

Chong Wei will play against Japan’s Kenichi Tago in the first round.

Former national players Wong Choong Hann and Sairul Amar Ayob could face first-round exits in matches against Indonesian No. 3 Simon Santoso and Christensen respectively.

No support: Tan Boon Heong (left) and Koo Kien Keat in action during the simulation match against Ong Soon Hock-Hoon Thien How at Gymnasium II in Bukit Jalil yesterday. – KAMAL SELLEHUDDIN / The Star

IT was a great day for Malaysia in the men’s doubles event when all three pairs checked into the quarter-finals.

Special praise, however, should go to Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong.

Yesterday, Kien Keat-Boon Heong tamed Japan’s Keishi Kawaguchi-Naoki Kawamae 21-16, 21-14 to set up a date with compatriots Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari.

National doubles coach Rexy Mainaky was pleased with Kien Keat-Boon Heong’s performance, saying: “I saw something special in them again after a long time”.

“I saw a little of the character that was missing from Koo and Tan. They were more focused in their game. This is a good sign,” said Rexy.

Zakry-Fairuzizuan, on their part, lived up to expectations by beating Hong Kong’s Albertus Susanto Nyoto-Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama 21-16, 22-20 in the second round.

Both Malaysian pairs will be joined by top seeds Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah in the last eight after the veterans cruised past Cambodians Prum Saravuth -Teav Yongvannak 21-8, 21-9.

On the two-time champions Tan Fook-Wan Wah’s match against South Koreans Lee Jae-jin-Hwang Ji-man, Rexy said: “They have had two easy matches. The real test will come tomorrow (today). But I hope Tan Fook-Wan Wah will clear the hurdle.”