Tan Fook, Wan Wah not dancing to same tune
News 9:15 AM
IT takes two to tango but that’s the case with veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wah Wah as one partner always falls short.
This much was evident when world No. 3 Tan Fook-Wan Wah’s hopes of nailing their third consecutive title in the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) went bust, no thanks to Tan Fook’s weak defence.
The pair lost to South Koreans Lee Jae-jin-Hwang Ji-man in the quarter-finals on Friday. It was the first time the two pairs met.
But national doubles coach Rexy Mainaky believes that if both Tan Fook and Wan Wah are on top of their game, they can be a handful to any of the world’s top pairs.
And Rexy is hoping that the veterans would dance to the same tune in the Thomas Cup Finals, which will be held in Jakarta from May 11-18.
“This is a challenge for our top pair. When one plays well, the other cannot keep up. In the ABC, Wan Wah played well but Tan Fook’s usually solid defence crumbled (on Friday),” said Rexy.
“On top of that, they were playing against the Koreans for the first time and could not cope with their fast cross court jabs. What I know about Tan Fook-Wan Wah is that they will play better against the same pair if they meet again.”
Wan Wah said they would forget about badminton for one or two days before resuming training.
“It has been a hectic year for us, with one tournament after another. It was too much. Now we just don’t want to think of badminton for a while. We will come back refreshed after the break,” said Wan Wah.
Next week’s world rankings (on April 24) will determine whether Tan Fook-Wan Wah will get to play as the country’s top doubles pair in the Finals as Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong are currently ranked fourth in the world.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 9:15 AM.
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