Felicia_txh
08-01-2007, 05:19 AM
By RAJES PAUL
KUALA LUMPUR: A seventh World Championships outing may end up in another disappointment for veteran men's doubles shuttlers Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah if their recent performances are anything to go by.
But Wan Wah is taking their defeats in the last two tournaments Thailand Open and China Masters as a blessing in disguise ahead of the world meet which will be held at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Aug 13-19.
We were overzealous at times and pushed ourselves beyond our limit. We have to play our best at our own pace. We will definitely be better prepared for the world championships, he said.
At the Thailand Open, Tan Fook-Wan Wah were the top seeds and they were beaten by Thailand's Tesana Panvisvas-Sudket Prapakamol in the quarter-finals. They lost to Indonesians Alven Yulianto-Luluk Hadiyanto in the second round of the China Masters.
The veteran pair were on a high coming into the two tournaments. They finished as the Asian champions and were the runners-up at the Singapore Open.
Wan Wah is glad that they are now free from injuries.
Tan Fook and I used to take turns getting injured. But we are free from any major injuries thus far this year because we do not overload ourselves in training. The coaches trust us and they give us time off. This arrangement has worked out well for us, he said.
On the challenges ahead in the world championships, Wan Wah said: It's going to be a very keen competition. China and South Korea will pose as the biggest threats. Malaysia also have strong pairs.
Besides Wan Wah-Tan Fook, the other Malaysian pairs in the fray are national number one Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Ong Soon Hock-Tan Bin Shen and Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif.
For the record, Tan Fook and Wan Wah have competed in every world meet since they made their debut at Glasgow in 1997 and their best outing together was a semi-final appearance in the 2001 edition in Seville. At the 1999 meet in Copenhagen, Wan Wah qualified with Chew Choon Eng while Tan Fook made the cut with Cheah Soon Kit. They lost in the early rounds in 1997 (Glasgow), 1999 (Copenhagen), 2003 (Birmingham), 2005 (Anaheim) and 2006 (Madrid).
KUALA LUMPUR: A seventh World Championships outing may end up in another disappointment for veteran men's doubles shuttlers Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah if their recent performances are anything to go by.
But Wan Wah is taking their defeats in the last two tournaments Thailand Open and China Masters as a blessing in disguise ahead of the world meet which will be held at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Aug 13-19.
We were overzealous at times and pushed ourselves beyond our limit. We have to play our best at our own pace. We will definitely be better prepared for the world championships, he said.
At the Thailand Open, Tan Fook-Wan Wah were the top seeds and they were beaten by Thailand's Tesana Panvisvas-Sudket Prapakamol in the quarter-finals. They lost to Indonesians Alven Yulianto-Luluk Hadiyanto in the second round of the China Masters.
The veteran pair were on a high coming into the two tournaments. They finished as the Asian champions and were the runners-up at the Singapore Open.
Wan Wah is glad that they are now free from injuries.
Tan Fook and I used to take turns getting injured. But we are free from any major injuries thus far this year because we do not overload ourselves in training. The coaches trust us and they give us time off. This arrangement has worked out well for us, he said.
On the challenges ahead in the world championships, Wan Wah said: It's going to be a very keen competition. China and South Korea will pose as the biggest threats. Malaysia also have strong pairs.
Besides Wan Wah-Tan Fook, the other Malaysian pairs in the fray are national number one Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Ong Soon Hock-Tan Bin Shen and Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif.
For the record, Tan Fook and Wan Wah have competed in every world meet since they made their debut at Glasgow in 1997 and their best outing together was a semi-final appearance in the 2001 edition in Seville. At the 1999 meet in Copenhagen, Wan Wah qualified with Chew Choon Eng while Tan Fook made the cut with Cheah Soon Kit. They lost in the early rounds in 1997 (Glasgow), 1999 (Copenhagen), 2003 (Birmingham), 2005 (Anaheim) and 2006 (Madrid).