Kien Keat and Boon Heong seek revenge against S. Koreans
News 9:31 AM
NATIONAL doubles shuttlers Tan Boon Heong-Koo Kien Keat still remember the pain of losing their title defence in the All-England and Swiss Open this year.
And one way to make up for the disappointment is for them to beat South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung in the semi-finals of the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) today.
Hot-shots Yong-dae-Jae-sung are the reigning All-England and Swiss Open winners.
Yesterday, Boon Heong-Kien Keat got their revenge against compatriots Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari with a 21-11, 12-21, 21-10 win in the quarter-finals.
It was their first win over Zakry-Fairuzizuan since losing in last year’s Singapore Open and this year’s Swiss Open.
Veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah failed to join Boon Heong-Kien Keat in the last four after losing 21-16, 17-21, 8-21 to South Koreans Lee Jae-jin-Hwang Ji-man.
Jae-jin-Ji-man will take on Indonesians Candra Wijaya-Nova Widianto in the other semi-final.
The Indonesians, who are out to impress their selectors for a place in the Thomas Cup Finals, defeated compatriots Alven Yulianto-Luluk Hadiyanto 22-20, 25-23 in a thrilling match.
Boon Heong was overjoyed with the way they defeated Zakry and Fairuzizuan.
“All I can say is that I am very satisfied with our combination. We also supported each other well. This is what was lacking in our previous matches.
“I am happy to see all that coming back in our partnership,” said Boon Heong.
“We lost a little focus in the second game and that is something that we cannot afford to do tomorrow.
“I am eager to meet Yong-dae-Jae-sung.
“They remind us of our failures (to defend the back-to-back European titles) and it is time for us to set the record straight,” he said.
Despite the disappointment, Zakry gave credit to Kien Keat-Boon Heong.
“They are certainly back on top of their game. I am sad that we lost but I am really happy that Kien Keat-Boon Heong are back at their best and it’s a timely boost ahead of the Thomas Cup Finals and the Olympic Games,” said Zakry.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 9:31 AM.
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