Koo-Tan show their prowess
News 12:44 PM
ODENSE: A controversial call turned out to be a perfect catalyst for Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong to nail the men’s doubles title in a marathon match at the Denmark Open here yesterday.
Second seeds Kien Keat-Boon Heong showed superb fighting spirit to beat gutsy Danes Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen 20-22, 21-14, 21-17 in an energy sapping 75-minute match.
The turning point for the Malaysians was in the rubber game when they were trailing 15-16 in the rubber game.
Boon Heong served to Boe but the shuttle hit a moving Mogensen.
Champions: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong beat Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen 20-22, 21-14, 21-17 to claim the Denmark Open title. Instead of calling it a point, the umpire Carol Ui Fhearghail of Ireland allowed a let that saw Kien Keat reacting furiously.
He challenged the call but the umpire insisted that it did not touch Mogensen and even an intervention from national coach Rosman Razak to seek help from the tournament referee fell on deaf ears.
Kien Keat was flashed a yellow card but the episode became a blessing for the charged up Malaysians as they dropped just one point to reel home the title.
It was the duo’s second Danish Open title after winning it in 2007. It was also Kien Keat’s third title in Denmark after having won it with Chong Ming in 2005.
After winning the match point, Kien Keat and Boon Heong fell on the ground in sheer happiness and attributed the win to a great team effort and determination.
Said Kien Keat: “I was so disappointed with the umpire. She did not give me a chance to explain and I was given a yellow card for questioning. I did not behave badly.
“I am happy that I stayed cool despite the incident. In the past, I would have showed my anger on the court. It all turned out to be a good ending for us. It certainly motivated us to do even better at the crucial stage. Boon Heong and I did well to phyche each other up, which was so important.”
Boon Heong was happy to regain the winning touch again.
“It has been so long since I felt like this. We celebrated as though we have won our first title. We hope to keep up the momentum in the France Open next,” added Boon Heong, who will leave for Paris today.
But Denmark still went home as the biggest winners yesterday when they bagged two titles through Tine Rasmussen in the women’s singles and Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen in the mixed doubles.
FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Simon Santoso (Ina) bt Marc Zwiebler (Ger) 21-14, 21-6.
Men’s doubles: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (Mas) bt Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen (Den) 20-22, 21-14, 21-17
Women’s singles: Tine Rasmussen (Den) bt Wang Yihan (Chn) 21-18, 19-21, 21-14
Women’s doubles: Pan Pan-Zhang Yawen (Chn) bt Kamilla Rytter Juhl-Lena Frier Kristiansen (Den) 22-20, 18-21, 21-12
Mixed doubles: Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen (Den) bt Anthony Clark-Donna Kellogg (Eng) 21-16, 25-27, 21-17
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 12:44 PM.
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