Still room for Kien Keat-Boon Heong to grow
Latest News 11:50 AM
KOO Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong have brought back some fresh hope
in Malaysian men’s doubles badminton with their efforts in the world
championships.
They failed to win the title but they showed that there was still room for them to grow after staging a great fight before losing 21-18, 18-21, 14-21 to China’s Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng in the final.
They were courageous and showed great determination. But they were glaringly lacking in consistency and confidence to end the race well.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong will have to work on these shortcomings and get them right for the defence of the Asian Games title in Guangzhou in November and also the other major tournaments lined up for them for the next two years.
On Sunday, Kien Keat-Boon Heong had to settle for the silver and it was the fourth runners-up finish in the men’s doubles for Malaysia since the world championships were introduced in 1977.
En route to the final, they did well to beat South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung and two Chinese pairs, Chai Biao-Zhang Nan and Guo Zhengdong-Xu Chen.
National doubles coach Rexy Mainaky said that the future was bright for Kien Keat-Boon Heong.
“I was most pleased with the determination showed by them. We will add more quality in their training to make them stronger,” he said.
“They have the chance to go one step better in the world championships in London next year. And their ultimate goal is the 2012 London Olympics.
“They have the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games coming up and we want them to excel. We will continue to help them to stay focused.”
Rexy said that the men’s doubles competition was still wide open and it would be his challenge to help Kien Keat-Boon Heong break away from the pack.
“Surely, Cai Yun-Haifeng, Yong-dae-Jae-sung and Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan are their main challengers. But some of them are not very young and I don’t see them being there for a long time,” he said.
“I am more worried about the second stringers coming through from South Korea and China. We will have to be wary of them.”
Rexy also promised to do his best to raise the standard of more pairs to support Kien Keat-Boon Heong.
“I want more Malaysian pairs in the next world championships. In order to do that, we have to send them out to improve on their world rankings.
“But first, they have to prove that they are good enough for the competitions,” he said.
Rexy also thanked all parties involved in the transformation of Kien Keat-Boon Heong into a more spirited pair.
National coach Pang Cheh Chang, who took charge of the pair for the last three months, for instance, worked closely with National Sports Institute (NSI) physical trainer Behrad Honar to raise their physical fitness.
The 10-day training stint at the Bath University in England, an initiative by NSI, also helped the duo stay focused on the tasks ahead.
The next major competition for Kien Keat-Boon Heong is the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October.
Boon Heong will be making his debut in the Games while Kien Keat was a gold medallist with Chan Chong Ming in the 2006 edition in Melbourne.
They failed to win the title but they showed that there was still room for them to grow after staging a great fight before losing 21-18, 18-21, 14-21 to China’s Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng in the final.
They were courageous and showed great determination. But they were glaringly lacking in consistency and confidence to end the race well.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong will have to work on these shortcomings and get them right for the defence of the Asian Games title in Guangzhou in November and also the other major tournaments lined up for them for the next two years.
On Sunday, Kien Keat-Boon Heong had to settle for the silver and it was the fourth runners-up finish in the men’s doubles for Malaysia since the world championships were introduced in 1977.
En route to the final, they did well to beat South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung and two Chinese pairs, Chai Biao-Zhang Nan and Guo Zhengdong-Xu Chen.
National doubles coach Rexy Mainaky said that the future was bright for Kien Keat-Boon Heong.
“I was most pleased with the determination showed by them. We will add more quality in their training to make them stronger,” he said.
“They have the chance to go one step better in the world championships in London next year. And their ultimate goal is the 2012 London Olympics.
“They have the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games coming up and we want them to excel. We will continue to help them to stay focused.”
Rexy said that the men’s doubles competition was still wide open and it would be his challenge to help Kien Keat-Boon Heong break away from the pack.
“Surely, Cai Yun-Haifeng, Yong-dae-Jae-sung and Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan are their main challengers. But some of them are not very young and I don’t see them being there for a long time,” he said.
“I am more worried about the second stringers coming through from South Korea and China. We will have to be wary of them.”
Rexy also promised to do his best to raise the standard of more pairs to support Kien Keat-Boon Heong.
“I want more Malaysian pairs in the next world championships. In order to do that, we have to send them out to improve on their world rankings.
“But first, they have to prove that they are good enough for the competitions,” he said.
Rexy also thanked all parties involved in the transformation of Kien Keat-Boon Heong into a more spirited pair.
National coach Pang Cheh Chang, who took charge of the pair for the last three months, for instance, worked closely with National Sports Institute (NSI) physical trainer Behrad Honar to raise their physical fitness.
The 10-day training stint at the Bath University in England, an initiative by NSI, also helped the duo stay focused on the tasks ahead.
The next major competition for Kien Keat-Boon Heong is the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October.
Boon Heong will be making his debut in the Games while Kien Keat was a gold medallist with Chan Chong Ming in the 2006 edition in Melbourne.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 11:50 AM.
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