ien Keat thriving on the absence of distractions in Bath
Top News 11:50 AM
BATH (England): National men’s doubles shuttler Koo Kien Keat took a dip in the icy cold pool and came out shivering – and with a grin.
It was his final activity of the day together with the rest of the Malaysian World Championships-bound team at the Sports Village of the University of Bath, where they have been based for the last seven days.
Relaxing time: Koo Kien Keat (centre) and sparring partner Vountus Indra Mawan having an ice bath with physical trainer Mohd Roesdi Abdul Ghani keeping an eye on them at the University of Bath on Monday.
The team have also been flexing their muscles at the Fitness Suite, sweating it out at the well-lighted eight-court Badminton High Performance Centre as well as running and sprinting at the indoor and outdoor athletics track – all within the boundary of the sprawling Bath’s famous sports village.
And the 26-year-old Kien Keat gave the thumbs-up for all the efforts to keep the players focused for the world meet, which will be held at Wembley from Aug 8-14.
“I would not have been able to do all this at home without having to deal with so many other distractions,” said Kien Keat.
“At home, I have to spend a lot of time travelling from the training venue to the gymnasium. I also like to hang out with my friends ... and there are other chores to do.
“Here, I have nothing to do but just focus on my training. The facilities are all under one roof. The cold water in the pool (10°C) is just adjacent to the warmer one and this process helps us to recover better after a hard day’s work.
“The whole ambience here just makes you want to push yourself in training.”
Kien Keat hopes that the final push during the low-key centralised training in Bath would result in him and partner Tan Boon Heong achieving satisfying results in their fourth World Championships.
The duo have choked three times in major events over the last one year, falling short in the finals of last year’s World Championships, Asian Games and All-England.
“Our challenge now is to deal with our own expectations on court,” said Kien Keat.
“We tend to make our lives difficult when the draw is kind to us and we tend to do the unexpected when the least is expected of us. We hope to cope with all this in a better way.
“Boon Heong and I want to do well. We are not afraid of anyone in the field.
“It is important that we stay relaxed and do the best that we can.”
Fourth seeds Kien Keat-Boon Heong are in the lower half of the draw with second seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark, South Koreans Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong and Mohd Ahsan-Bona Septano of Indonesia.
In the top half are three-time world champions Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng, Indonesians Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan, South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung and Malaysians Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Hoon Thien How and Chan Peng Soon-Lim Khim Wah.
Kien Keat has been one of the most successful doubles players when it comes to the world meet.
He won a silver medal with Boon Heong in last year’s edition in Paris and took home two bronze medals – one with Boon Heong in 2009 (Hyderabad) and another with Chan Chong Ming in 2005 (Anaheim).
He also won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles with Wong Pei Tty in 2006 (Madrid).
The one thing missing is a gold medal – and he is quietly hoping that their preparation in the serene city of Bath will inspire him to complete his collection.
The Malaysian team will leave for Wembley tomorrow.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 11:50 AM.
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