BIRMINGHAM: Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah are just one step closer to end Malaysia's 24-year wait for the men's doubles crown in the All-England badminton championships. Yesterday, the duo overcame short lapses of concentration to march into the final with a 17-15, 15-10 win over world number three Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China at the National Indoor Arena here yesterday. In the quarter-finals on Friday, the Malaysians had pulled off a stunning 15-13, 15-11 win over top seed and world champions Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark. They will now take on another Danish pair Jens Erikssen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen in the final today. The Danes had eliminated Indonesian Flandi Limpele-Eng Hian 9-15, 15-1, 15-6 in an earlier match-up. National doubles chief coach Yap Kim Hock was happy with the duo's achievement but did not want to feel too overjoyed. “The mission has not completed yet. There is one more match to go and I hope the pair will concentrate and stay focused,” said Kim Hock in a telephone interview from Birmingham. Yesterday, Tan Fook-Wan Wah lived dangerously against the Chinese. They got off to a flying start, taking a comfortable 11-1 lead but complacency crept into their game and they started making mistakes to let the Chinese catch up at 11-12. The match went into deuce but the Malaysians prevailed to win 17-15. In the second game, the Malaysians trailed 2-7 but they managed to pull back at 7-7. Both sides were locked in a tight fight after that but the Malaysians held their nerves to win 15-10. Tan Fook-Wan Wah are the second Malaysian pair to reach the final after Kim Hock-Cheah Soon Kit's effort in 1996. But Kim Hock-Soon Kit lost to Indonesian Ricky Subagja-Rexy Mainaky. For the record, the last Malaysian to win the All-England doubles title were Razif and Jalani Sidek way back in 1982.
