Kien Keat, Pei Tty ready to shine again under new programme

PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Koo Kien Keat and Wong Pei Tty are ready to hit it right again in the mixed doubles now that there is a structured training programme and clearly defined goals for the event in the national team.

The duo will use the Denmark Open scheduled for Oct 20-25 to test their compatibility ahead of the task to win the SEA Games gold medal in Laos in December. For next year, they have set their sights for honours in the Commonwealth Games and Asiad.

Prior to their reunion, Kien Keat was with Ng Hui Lin while Pei Tty had short stints with Lim Khim Wah and Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have now given emphasis to mixed doubles play and they have appointed Jeremy Gan to oversee the programme to get at least a pair into the 2010 London Olympics.

With greater support, Kien Keat-Pei Tty are excited to resume a partnership.

“It will be different for Koo and me this time,” said Pei Tty.

“It helps when there is a target and a purpose for a player in the mixed doubles. With more regimented training, we can aim for better results than we had in the past when we used to just make up the numbers.”

Although they were not given much attention before, Kien Keat-Pei Tty did well to win a bronze medal in the 2005 Manila SEA Games and the 2006 World Championships.

They parted company after the world championships but did feature together twice over the last three years — at the France Open last year and at the Sudirman Cup this year.

“The plan is for us to train three times weekly with the back-up squad’s mixed doubles players. It will certainly be another challenge for us,” said Pei Tty.

Kien Keat is also looking forward to jump start his partnership with Pei Tty.

“The coaches have set targets for us and it is our duty to meet those expectations. Pei Tty and I will certainly be out to hit it right again,” he said. “We will get to test where we stand in the Denmark Open. We will aim for good result in the following France Open and we will be out to stamp our mark in the SEA Games.”

Kien Keat made it clear that the task to do well in the mixed doubles with Pei Tty would not be done at the expense of neglecting his men’s doubles partnership with Tan Boon Heong.

“I do not think Pei Tty will take it easy in her women’s doubles (with Chin Eei Hui) either. In fact, the mixed doubles will help us to improve our court coverage,” he said.

Posted by Lucas Liau on 11:00 AM. Filed under Koo Kien Keat, News, Wong Pei Tty . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0