Gallant performance Koo-Tan step into semis after beating Indonesians

Posted by Lucas Liau Top News 9:36 AM

PETALING JAYA: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong took a giant step to restore their pride when they stormed into the All-England men’s doubles semi-finals in Birmingham yesterday.
The fifth seeds from Malaysia overcame a late fightback from an error-prone Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia to win 21-19, 23-25, 21-11 in a 49-minute quarter-final match.
The Malaysians could have wrapped up the match earlier after taking the match point (20-18) in the second game, but allowed the experienced Indonesians to sneak from behind to force a decider.
The Indonesians continued to raise the tempo in the rubber game but the Malaysians showed better anticipation and determination to romp home for a win.

Today, the pair will take on the winner of the match between Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China and Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong of South Korea for a place in the final.
The determined showing by the Malaysians yesterday put paid to Markis-Hendra’s hope to end an elusive chase for an All-England title.
The Indonesians had beaten Kien Keat-Boon Heong for their first Asian Games title in Guangzhou, China, last November adding to their earlier collection of the Olympic and world titles, but they had never been as fortunate in the All-England series.
For the Malaysians, a first win over Markis-Hendra in more than a year will help them regain some pride after going through troubled waters since the start of this year.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong have not beaten the Indonesians since their triumph in the team final tie during the Laos SEA Games in 2009.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong had failed to defend their title at the Malaysia Open in January after losing to unheralded Hong Wei-Shen Ye of China in the first round.
The Malaysians lost to South Koreans Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae in the semi-finals of the South Korea and German Opens respectively and also failed to make the second stage of the Super Series Masters Finals in Taiwan in January.
Malaysia will also be hoping for a double joy when Mohd ZakryAbdul Latif-Hoon Thien How take on Denmarks world No. 1 pair Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen for a place in the semi-finals.
In the men’s singles, world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei has a good chance to get the better of Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand for a place in the semi-finals.
Four-time champion Lin Dan is the only China player left in the fray after the shocking defeat of his compatriots – world champion Chen Jin and junior shuttler Wang Zhengming.
Chen Jin bowed out 18-21, 20-22 to Marc Zwiebler of Germany while Zhengming went down 15-21, 21-19, 16-21 to Japan’s Kazushi Yamada.