Kien Keat-Boon Heong need to find a quick fix to stop the rot
Top News 4:49 PM
KUALA LUMPUR: The truth, they say, hurts.
And it’s about time Malaysia’s top doubles pair of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong face the brutal truth: You are not as good as you used to be!
And they need to find a quick fix to stop the rot or end up just making up the numbers at the World Championships in London from Aug 8-14.
At the India Open, which ended in New Delhi on Sunday, Kien Keat-Boon Heong failed to live up to their top billing when they crashed to a shocking 16-21, 19-21 semi-final defeat to Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata of Japan in just 32 minutes.
Demoralised: Koo Kien Keat (left) and Tan Boon Heong crashed to a 16-21, 19-21 defeat by Japan’s Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata in the India Open semi-finals last week.
While the demoralised Malaysians are trying to figure out what went wrong, the Japanese are laughing all the way to the bank after becoming the first pair from their nation to lift the Super Series title since its inception in 2007.
They defeated Indonesians Angga Pratama-Ryan Agung Saputra 21-17, 21-9 in the final.
For the Malaysians, it was the second major blow to their pride, having been shown the exit by 2009 world junior champions Ow Yao Han-Chooi Kah Ming in the opening round of the Kuala Lumpur Open last month.
National coach Rexy Mainaky believes it is still not too late to change things around, “provided the duo realise that skill and speed alone won’t bring you success”.
“What they need is to have a winning attitude once they are on court,” said Rexy.
“The other pairs have caught up with Koo-Tan ... some have even overtaken them!
“Koo-Tan have always relied on their skills, speed and power. There is no doubt that they are exceptionally good in these areas ... but they need more.
“The Japanese were trailing 13-17 in the second game but fought like warriors to upset Koo and Tan. The Japanese are not as skilful as the Malaysians but they had the heart of a prized fighter.
“Koo-Tan did not do well in the German Open (in March) but, a week later, they upset Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan (of Indonesia) and Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng (of China) in the All-England.
“They have to show the same kind of fighting spirit once again. They do not have to alter their ... just add a little more fire in their bellies.”
And it is this never-say-die attitude that Rexy wants to see from Kien Keat-Boon Heong when they compete in the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold, which begins in Alor Setar tomorrow.
“It is all about approaching the game with the right mindset,” said Rexy.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong are the top seeds and will take on Japan’s Yoshiteru Hirobe-Kenta Kazuno in the opening round. The others in their half are Japanese pairs Naoki Kawamae-Shoji Sato and Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa, South Koreans Kim Ki-jung-Kim Sa-rang and Indonesians Mohd Ahsan-Bona Septano.
In the lower half are second seeds Markis-Hendra and Alven Yulianto-Hendra Gunawan of Indonesia, South Koreans Cho Gun-woo-Kwon Yi-goo and reigning India Open champions Hirokatsu-Noriyasu.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 4:49 PM.
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