Chance for Koo-Tan to gain psychological edge over Asiad rivals
Latest News 9:00 AM
PETALING JAYA: World championship silver medallists Koo Kien
Keat-Tan Boon Heong have the opportunity to earn a big psychological
boost ahead of the Guangzhou Asian Games in November when they resume
their partnership for the Japan Open in Tokyo from Sept 22-27.
World No. 1 Kien Keat-Boon Heong are the top seeds and they have their confidence well in place to mount a strong bid for a first Japan Open men’s doubles crown after making their first world championship final appearance in Paris last month.
The duo have a succession of Asian rivals in their path to the final. Kien Keat-Boon Heong will start against unheralded Japanese Shohei Hoshino-Akira Kobayashi and have the more dangerous partnership of Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa as their likely opponents in the second round.
In their quarter are Taiwanese Lee Mu-sheng-Fang Chieh-min, the winners of the Singapore and Indonesian Opens this year.
If Kien Keat-Boon Heong reach the semi-finals, they can expect to play against top South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung. And this will be an interesting match-up.
Yong-dae-Jae-sung, the seventh seeds, are no longer the bogey pair for the Malaysians. Kien Keat-Boon Heong beat the Koreans in the quarter-finals of the world championships and another win will be a splendid morale boost as they look towards defending the Asian Games title.
The other half of the draw has three-time world champions Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun, the fifth seeds who face a possible quarter-final match against Olympic champions and second seeds Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.
An all-China semi-final affair will be realised if world championship semi-finalists Guo Zhendong-Chen Xu live up to their billing as the fourth seeds.
Doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky said that not competing in the China Masters next week should make Kien Keat-Boon Heong more hungry in Japan to bag their second Super Series title this year.
“They only won the Malaysian Open at the beginning of the year but from what I see in Paris, we have got back the old Koo-Tan,” said Rexy. “They have showed strong character in their game, which earned them the 2006 Asiad title. They stand a good chance to win the Japan Open title.”
Kien Keat-Boon Heong should be highly motivated to do well in the Japan Open. They played their first international competition as a pair in the 2006 tournament and chalked up a runners-up finish.
The tournament in Tokyo will be the first international Open for Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Hoon Thien How as a pair and they have Markis-Hendra in their path in the second round.
It will be equally tough for two other Malaysian pairs – Mak Hee Chun-Tan Wee Kiong and Chan Peng Soon-Lim Khim Wah – as they have first-round matches against Swiss Open winners Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong of South Korea and Carsten Mogensen-Mathias Boe of Denmark respectively.
World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, whose participation is still in doubt because of a back injury, has a tough draw.
He has an opening match against India’s V. Gurusaidutt and is likely to meet Kenichi Tago next unless Mohd Hafiz Hashim can get the better of the Japanese All-England runner-up in the first round.
World champion and third seed Chen Jin is in the same half of the draw along with Bao Chunlai (sixth seed) and Sony Dwi Kuncoro (eighth seed).
There is no Malaysian representative in the women’s singles and doubles competitions.
World No. 1 Kien Keat-Boon Heong are the top seeds and they have their confidence well in place to mount a strong bid for a first Japan Open men’s doubles crown after making their first world championship final appearance in Paris last month.
The duo have a succession of Asian rivals in their path to the final. Kien Keat-Boon Heong will start against unheralded Japanese Shohei Hoshino-Akira Kobayashi and have the more dangerous partnership of Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa as their likely opponents in the second round.
In their quarter are Taiwanese Lee Mu-sheng-Fang Chieh-min, the winners of the Singapore and Indonesian Opens this year.
If Kien Keat-Boon Heong reach the semi-finals, they can expect to play against top South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung. And this will be an interesting match-up.
Yong-dae-Jae-sung, the seventh seeds, are no longer the bogey pair for the Malaysians. Kien Keat-Boon Heong beat the Koreans in the quarter-finals of the world championships and another win will be a splendid morale boost as they look towards defending the Asian Games title.
The other half of the draw has three-time world champions Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun, the fifth seeds who face a possible quarter-final match against Olympic champions and second seeds Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.
An all-China semi-final affair will be realised if world championship semi-finalists Guo Zhendong-Chen Xu live up to their billing as the fourth seeds.
Doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky said that not competing in the China Masters next week should make Kien Keat-Boon Heong more hungry in Japan to bag their second Super Series title this year.
“They only won the Malaysian Open at the beginning of the year but from what I see in Paris, we have got back the old Koo-Tan,” said Rexy. “They have showed strong character in their game, which earned them the 2006 Asiad title. They stand a good chance to win the Japan Open title.”
Kien Keat-Boon Heong should be highly motivated to do well in the Japan Open. They played their first international competition as a pair in the 2006 tournament and chalked up a runners-up finish.
The tournament in Tokyo will be the first international Open for Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Hoon Thien How as a pair and they have Markis-Hendra in their path in the second round.
It will be equally tough for two other Malaysian pairs – Mak Hee Chun-Tan Wee Kiong and Chan Peng Soon-Lim Khim Wah – as they have first-round matches against Swiss Open winners Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong of South Korea and Carsten Mogensen-Mathias Boe of Denmark respectively.
World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, whose participation is still in doubt because of a back injury, has a tough draw.
He has an opening match against India’s V. Gurusaidutt and is likely to meet Kenichi Tago next unless Mohd Hafiz Hashim can get the better of the Japanese All-England runner-up in the first round.
World champion and third seed Chen Jin is in the same half of the draw along with Bao Chunlai (sixth seed) and Sony Dwi Kuncoro (eighth seed).
There is no Malaysian representative in the women’s singles and doubles competitions.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 9:00 AM.
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