World No. 1 pair set sights on retaining Asiad title
Latest News 11:49 AM
A FOUR-year cycle is coming to an end for Koo Kien Keat-Tan
Boon Heong since their first-ever major success on the international
stage at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
And Kien Keat hopes to complete their up and down journey on a good note by retaining the Asiad title in Guangzhou in November.
At the 2006 Games, Kien Keat-Boon Heong became the first Malaysian pair in 36 years to win gold at the Asiad.
The breakthrough saw them dominating men’s doubles competitions and they went undefeated for almost six months. They also ended a 24-year drought of a men’s doubles title for Malaysia at the prestigious All-England in 2007.
In their latest outing at the world championships, they became the first Malaysian pair in 13 years to reach the final. But they fell short to become the first-ever Malaysian winners in the series, losing 21-18, 18-21, 14-21 to Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China.
Kien Keat said that he had come a long way with Boon Heong.
“It has been a great journey for Boon Heong and I. There have been ups and downs,” he said.
“We began our journey very well and got lost somewhere along the way. But now, we are getting back to the top again.
“At this stage, it’s all about confidence for us. I think we lost to the Chinese because they were more confident than us, especially in the third game.
“They were more daring to play the attacking game while we held back.
“Overall, it was a good outing for us in Paris.
“Boon Heong and I learnt to trust each other better.”
Kien Keat added that they would be selective in tournaments they play in a bid to peak for several major events.
“We will focus more on our preparations at home to be ready for big tournaments,” he said.
“It has been almost four years now since we won the Asian Games gold medal.
“We want to retain it and before that we also want to help the country win gold medals in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi (in October).”
And Kien Keat hopes to complete their up and down journey on a good note by retaining the Asiad title in Guangzhou in November.
At the 2006 Games, Kien Keat-Boon Heong became the first Malaysian pair in 36 years to win gold at the Asiad.
The breakthrough saw them dominating men’s doubles competitions and they went undefeated for almost six months. They also ended a 24-year drought of a men’s doubles title for Malaysia at the prestigious All-England in 2007.
In their latest outing at the world championships, they became the first Malaysian pair in 13 years to reach the final. But they fell short to become the first-ever Malaysian winners in the series, losing 21-18, 18-21, 14-21 to Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China.
Kien Keat said that he had come a long way with Boon Heong.
“It has been a great journey for Boon Heong and I. There have been ups and downs,” he said.
“We began our journey very well and got lost somewhere along the way. But now, we are getting back to the top again.
“At this stage, it’s all about confidence for us. I think we lost to the Chinese because they were more confident than us, especially in the third game.
“They were more daring to play the attacking game while we held back.
“Overall, it was a good outing for us in Paris.
“Boon Heong and I learnt to trust each other better.”
Kien Keat added that they would be selective in tournaments they play in a bid to peak for several major events.
“We will focus more on our preparations at home to be ready for big tournaments,” he said.
“It has been almost four years now since we won the Asian Games gold medal.
“We want to retain it and before that we also want to help the country win gold medals in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi (in October).”
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 11:49 AM.
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