HOTSHOTS Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong say that their real tests in the world championships begin today while Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif feel that they have regained their touch after winning their opening round matches.

The action in second-round matches in the men’s doubles competition yesterday also saw the exit of third seeds Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark.

For Kien Keat-Boon Heong, they were hardly tested against Nigerians Ola Fagbemi-Jinkan Ifraimu, romping to an 21-5, 21-16 win in just 17 minutes.

The easy win was a blessing in disguise for Kien Keat, who had twisted his ankle during training.

“It is just a slight twist but I am being very careful about it. I do not want this minor problem to affect my game tomorrow,” he said.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong will play against Japanese Naoki Kawamae-Shoji Sato today for a place in the quarter-finals. The Japanese had eliminated former Malaysian No. 1 Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng in the opening round on Monday.

“We have not played against them and we will not take them lightly. Our match will get tougher from here and we will be ready,” said Kien Keat.

Zakry-Fairuzizuan, who had been having problems to complement each other on the court, got their acts right yesterday when they defeated Yoshiteru Hirobe-Hajime Komiyama of Japan 21-14, 23-21.

But they courted letting each other down in the second game while trailing 15-19 but quick communication saw them covering for each other well to escape with a narrow win.

And for Zakry, it has given them a huge dose of confidence to take on Indonesians Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki-Rian Sukmawan for a place in the quarter-finals.

“There was a stage in the second game that I lost focus. Fortunately, I regained the rhythm. But this is my weakness and I cannot afford to do this tomorrow,” said Zakry.

“This win is important as it had given Fairuzizuan and I some confidence after going through tough times. We hope to play even better tomorrow.”

On the match against Yonathan-Dasuki, Fairuzizuan said: “We have won all three previous matches against them but we will not be over confident. We know a lot is stake on our performance here and we will give our best.”

The big upset in the event yesterday was the elimination of former champions Paake-Rasmussen, who were beaten 19-21, 21-15, 17-21 by South Koreans Han Sang-hoon-Shin Baek-cheol.

KUALA LUMPUR: Top seeds Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia will not be defending the men’s doubles title at the World Championships due to the former’s health problems.

And that is good news for Malaysia’s fourth seeds Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif, who are in the same half as the 2008 Beijing Olympic champions.

According to Kompas website, the stocky Markis has high blood pressure and had even fainted once during physical training.

Following advice from coach Sigit Pamungkas, Markis has now been ruled out from the world meet, which will begin in Hyderabad, India, on Monday.

On Wednesday, it was also confirmed that the All-Indonesia Badminton Association (PBSI) had notified the Badminton World Federation (BWF) of Markis-Hendra’s withdrawal.

This is not the first time that Markis has faced such a setback. He was laid low by a knee injury and even took time off from training following the death of his father early this year.

National doubles coach Rexy Mainaky said he knew about Markis’ health condition earlier and hoped that Fairuzizuan-Zakry would make full use of this opportunity to justify their seeding.

“The absence of Markis-Hendra should make life much easier for the players in the top half of the draw. Fairuzizuan and Zakry should grab this opportunity,” said Rexy.

According to BWF media and communications manager S. Selvam, there will not be a re-draw or promotion of players from the reserve list to replace Markis-Hendra.

Earlier Fairuzizuan-Zakry had been expected to meet Markis-Hendra in the quarter-finals. But now, they will have to be wary of two seeded pairs – 11th seeds Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki-Rian Sukmawan of Indonesia and 14th seeds Kenichi Hayakawa-Kenta Kazuno.

There are also three unseeded, but equally dangerous, pairs – Hu Chung-shien-Tsai Chia-hsin of Taiwan, South Koreans Cho Gun-woo-Yoo Yeon-seong and China’s Chai Biao-Liu Xiaolong – who can be spoilers in the Malaysians’ bid to make the top four.

Said Zakry: “We are certainly in a better position now.

“Still, we cannot take it easy at all in our quarter.”

“The other Indonesian pair of Yonathan-Rian are no pushovers. They have made life difficult for us in the past. Fairuzizuan and I will tread with caution.”

The Malaysians, who went down in their opening match at the previous world meet in Kuala Lumpur in 2007, are expected to take on Yonathan-Rian in the third round.

Second seeds Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong are in the same half as two other Malaysians Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng as well as South Koreans Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae and Mathias Boe-Carsten Morgensen of Denmark.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif’s partnership has hit a rocky patch.

And it is threatening to derail their hopes of winning the men’s doubles title at next month’s World Championships, which is less than 10 days away.

Mixed fortune: Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Wong Pei Tty in action en route to the mixed doubles title. Pei Tty later paired up with Chin Eei Hui to win the women’s doubles gold medal in the Mini Olympic Games at the Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara yesterday.

And the duo are set to hold clear-the-air talks with national doubles coach Rexy Mainaky either today or tomorrow to settle their differences ahead of the world meet, which will be held in Hyderabad from Aug 10-16.

It was evident that something was wrong with their two-year partnership when they went down tamely – 18-21, 14-21 – to back-up shuttlers Goh Wei Shem-Vountus Indra Mawan in the quarter-finals of the Mini Olympic Games at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara on Wednesday.

They did not complement each other and there was no semblance of understanding in their game at all in that defeat.

In fact, the pair have been struggling to regain their form since their good showing in the semi-final tie against China in the Thomas Cup Finals in Jakarta last year.

This year, their best results in the Super Series events have been quarter-finals finishes at the All-England and Indonesian Open.

Fairuzizuan admitted that his partnership with Zakry had hit a rocky patch.

But he is determined to stick with Zakry until the day he calls it quits.

“We are not as compatible as before. We do not seem to have the same understanding when we are on court. Both of us are at a loss as to what has gone wrong (with our game),” said Fairuzizuan yesterday.

“Sometimes I play my own game and Zakry his own. And sometimes we complement each other so well.

“Zakry was injured for a while (early this year). He is an explosive player and does most of the attacking. But, due to injury, he has slowed down. I am a setter and I found it difficult to go on the attack.

“I think this has affected our performances as a pair this year. But Zakry and I have come a long way and we are determined to work things out.”

Fairuzizuan hopes that things would change for the better once he and Zakry discuss their problems with Rexy.

“I want this partnership with Zakry to work. I have no plans to go separate ways after the world meet. I want to play with Zakry until I retire,” said Fairuzizuan.

“I want to put this behind us and work towards doing well in the world meet.”

The eighth-seeded Fairuzizuan-Zakry are in the same half with top seeds and defending champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the world meet. Barring an upset, the duo are likely to face Markis-Hendra in the quarter-finals.

“Zakry and I have practically crashed out in the quarter-finals of most of the tournaments this year. We hope that we will be able to make a breakthrough in this world meet,” said Fairuzizuan.

Besides Fairuzizuan-Zakry, Malaysia’s three other Hyderabad-bound pairs are second seeds Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif’s partnership has hit a rocky patch.

And it is threatening to derail their hopes of winning the men’s doubles title at next month’s World Championships, which is less than 10 days away.

Mixed fortune: Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Wong Pei Tty in action en route to the mixed doubles title. Pei Tty later paired up with Chin Eei Hui to win the women’s doubles gold medal in the Mini Olympic Games at the Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara yesterday.

And the duo are set to hold clear-the-air talks with national doubles coach Rexy Mainaky either today or tomorrow to settle their differences ahead of the world meet, which will be held in Hyderabad from Aug 10-16.

It was evident that something was wrong with their two-year partnership when they went down tamely – 18-21, 14-21 – to back-up shuttlers Goh Wei Shem-Vountus Indra Mawan in the quarter-finals of the Mini Olympic Games at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara on Wednesday.

They did not complement each other and there was no semblance of understanding in their game at all in that defeat.

In fact, the pair have been struggling to regain their form since their good showing in the semi-final tie against China in the Thomas Cup Finals in Jakarta last year.

This year, their best results in the Super Series events have been quarter-finals finishes at the All-England and Indonesian Open.

Fairuzizuan admitted that his partnership with Zakry had hit a rocky patch.

But he is determined to stick with Zakry until the day he calls it quits.

“We are not as compatible as before. We do not seem to have the same understanding when we are on court. Both of us are at a loss as to what has gone wrong (with our game),” said Fairuzizuan yesterday.

“Sometimes I play my own game and Zakry his own. And sometimes we complement each other so well.

“Zakry was injured for a while (early this year). He is an explosive player and does most of the attacking. But, due to injury, he has slowed down. I am a setter and I found it difficult to go on the attack.

“I think this has affected our performances as a pair this year. But Zakry and I have come a long way and we are determined to work things out.”

Fairuzizuan hopes that things would change for the better once he and Zakry discuss their problems with Rexy.

“I want this partnership with Zakry to work. I have no plans to go separate ways after the world meet. I want to play with Zakry until I retire,” said Fairuzizuan.

“I want to put this behind us and work towards doing well in the world meet.”

The eighth-seeded Fairuzizuan-Zakry are in the same half with top seeds and defending champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the world meet. Barring an upset, the duo are likely to face Markis-Hendra in the quarter-finals.

“Zakry and I have practically crashed out in the quarter-finals of most of the tournaments this year. We hope that we will be able to make a breakthrough in this world meet,” said Fairuzizuan.

Besides Fairuzizuan-Zakry, Malaysia’s three other Hyderabad-bound pairs are second seeds Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng.

KUALA LUMPUR: It has been three months since the men’s doubles shuttler Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari partnered Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif in an international tournament.

But there is no reason for him to doubt his partner’s ability. In fact, he is confident that they will soar high again when they make a return to competition at the Indonesian Open, which begins on Wednesday in Jakarta.

The duo are the defending champions and they are the fourth seeds in the Super Series event.

In the last two international outings, Fairuzizuan went without his partner and he played in the mixed doubles at the Sudirman Cup world mixed team championships in Guangzhou and in the Singapore Open, which ended yesterday.

Zakry was not selected for the Sudirman Cup because of his poor physical condition and he was dropped from the Singapore Open after missing most of the sessions with the physical trainers.

Confident: Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari (right) and Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif out to shine at Indonesia Open.

Fairuzizuan added that they were still compatible even though they had not played in as many international tournaments this year.

“We know each other so well and we will be able to play well together in the Indonesian Open,” he said. In the Pahang Open last month, the duo emerged as the champions for the first time on the local circuit.

“It will be tougher in an international tournament but both of us are ready. Our physical conditions are better.

“In my absence during the Singapore Open, Zakry has been training hard. We will give our best.”

In the Indonesian Open, the duo are in the same quarter as South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung.

“We have never beaten the Koreans before. It will be a big breakthrough for us if we can pull off a win over them,” said Fairuzizuan.

“If we can overcome them, we will try to go all the way to defend our title.”

The other pairs in the same half of the draw as Fairuzizuan-Zakry are top seeds Markis Kido-Hendra Gunawan of Indonesia and Malaysian veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah.

The other half has second seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Morgensen of Denmark, China’s Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng and Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong.

Swiss Open champions Kien Keat-Boon Heong will be hoping for a quick rebound after losing to eventual champions Anthony Clark-Nathan Robertson of England in the second round of the Singapore Open on Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Fairu­zizuan Mohd Tazari will feature in the mixed doubles again with Wong Pei Tty after a lapse of two years but it is in the men’s doubles with Mohd Zakry Latif that he will be gunning for glory in the All-England in Birmingham next week.

In the mixed doubles, Fairuzi­zuan-Pei Tty will have to earn their place in the main draw from the qualifying tournament.

Fairuzizuan teamed up with Pei Tty to win the bronze medal at the 2006 Doha Asian Games. Their last tournament was the Asian Badminton Championships in 2007.

He has to put in extra effort on court and in physical training to sustain a high level of fitness to play dual roles but he is not complaining.

“The South Koreans play the mixed doubles as well and it keeps them sharp,” said Fairuzizuan.

Flashback: Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Wong Pei Tty in action at the Singapore Open in this 2007 file picture. The duo will be teaming up again for the All-England next week.

“The men’s doubles is still my priority but I have been training regularly in the mixed doubles as well. The draw for the All-England mixed doubles is relatively quite okay. We can get into the main draw and there is a chance for us to reach the quarter-finals.”

Making the tournament proper will give them a first-round match against another qualifying pair and they have Thailand’s Sudket Pra­pakamol-Saralee Thoung­thong­­­­kam next in the path.

Fairuzizuan also harbours hopes of getting his men’s doubles season with Zakry off to a fine start. They did not feature in the Malaysian and Korean Opens last month because Zakry was nursing a knee injury sustained in the Super Series Masters Finals in Kota Kinabalu last December.

Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan are now likely to skip the All-England as the former is reported to be struggling to recover from a knee injury. If the Indonesian world number two pair withdraw, it will brighten the chances of Fairu­zi­zuan-Zakry to make the final.

Fairuzizuan-Zakry have been drawn in the same half as the top seeded Indonesians, whom they have not beaten before.

Fairuzizuan-Zakry begin their campaign against Yonathan Dasuki-Rian Sukmawan of Indonesia and are expected to meet Anders Kristiansen-Simon Mollyhus of Denmark in the second round before a likely quarter-final clash against England’s Nathan Robertson-Anthony Clark.

“I am confident we can qualify for the quarter-finals but it will be tougher from there,” said Fairuzizuan, whose best achievement in the All-England was reaching the semi-finals with Lin Woon Fui in 2006.

“Our target is to live up to our billing as the fourth seeds but if the Indonesian top pair are out, it’s good news. Right now, our focus is on keeping fit. We have to trim excess weight. Both of us have not played in a tournament this year and we have gained a kilogramme each. But this should not be a problem.”

KUALA LUMPUR: On Friday, Malaysians Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong were hot. Yesterday, they blew cold, going down to compatriots Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif in the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open.

Fairuzizuan-Zakry took just 36 minutes to beat Kien Keat-Boon Heong 12-21, 21-13, 22-20 in a men’s doubles match that saw both pairs playing well below par.

In the final: Fairuzizuan-Zakry took just 36 minutes to beat compatriots Kien Keat-Boon Heong in the Hong Kong Open yesterday.

Just a day earlier, Kien Keat-Boon Heong had been on cloud nine after beating top seeds and Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.

With yesterday’s defeat, Kien Keat-Boon Heong’s campaign in the 12-leg Super Series this year comes to an end without them having qualified for a single final.

Following their exits, expectations are high on Fairuzizuan-Zakry to end their five-month title drought when they take on South Koreans Lee Yong -dae-Jung Jae-sung in today’s final.

Yong-dae-Jae-sung defeated England’s Anthony Clark-Nathan Roberston 21-19, 21-17 in the other semi-final.

Zakry said there was no joy in beating their compatriots

“I have nothing much to say on our win against our good friends. I think, we got lucky today,” said Zakry in a telephone interview.

“We are not in the best of condition. It will be tough for us in the final. No one is going to make it easy for us.”

Fairuzizuan, however, seemed more optimistic.

“Our key to success today was the fact that we were more aggressive in our attacks. We hope to stay focused and cut down on our mistakes,” Fairuzizuan said.

The duo’s previous Super Series wins came at the Singapore and Indonesia Opens in June.

Despite their below par performances, national chief coach Rexy Mainaky was happy that both pairs — Zakry-Fairuzizuan and Kien Keat-Boon Heong — have made it to the Super Series Masters Finals, which will be held in Kota Kinabalu from Dec 18-21.

“It was an anti climax that Koo-Tan lost to Fairuzizuan-Zakry. But, at least, we have one pair in the final,” he added.

The men’s singles final will be an all-China affair with China 0pen champion Lin Dan taking on Chen Jin.

In the semi-finals, Lin Dan disposed of Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana 21-15, 21-16 while Chen Jin overcame Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat 21-17, 21-14.