TheStar April 20 KUCHING: If his determination in training is anything to go by, doubles shuttler Chan Chong Ming is certainly all fired up to end a winless streak against two top pairs in his fourth appearance in the Thomas Cup Finals. In the Finals in Japan from April 28-May 7, the 25-year-old Chong Ming partners Koo Kien Keat as the first ranked pair in the team. It will be the second time that Chong Ming will form a top-ranked partnership for Malaysia in the Finals. He formed the number one ranked pair in the team with Chew Choon Eng for the 2002 Finals in Guangzhou. But after the failure to deliver an important point for Malaysia in the final against Indonesia (beaten easily by Candra Wijaya-Sigit Budiarto in Guangzhou), Chong Ming does not want to end up disappointed again. “Together with Kien Keat, we will be out to win a point for Malaysia in every tie. It will be great if we can beat two pairs in the upcoming Finals to help Malaysia win the Cup. That is my goal,” said Chong Ming. The two pairs he was referring to are Candra-Sigit and Denmark's Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen. Second seeds Malaysia will meet either Indonesia or South Korea in the quarter-finals. Victory will give them a semi-final encounter against Denmark. Top seeds and defending champions China are expected to reach the final from the other half of the knockout draw. The top ranked pair for China are Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng while the South Koreans have Hwang Ji-man-Han Sang-hoon. “We beat the Chinese en route to reaching the quarter-finals of the World Championships last year. We have not played against the Koreans,” said Chong Ming. After enjoying ups and downs this year, Chong Ming is optimistic of a good showing together with Kien Keat as the first Malaysian pair. “There were some setbacks for me this year. But I am feeling confident, especially after going through the centralised training here. Team spirit is high,” said Chong Ming. Chong Ming-Kien Keat started well this year by winning the Swiss Open title and won the Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medal last month. But they fared poorly under the new 21-point best-of-three games scoring format at the Thomas Cup qualifying round in Jaipur in February. They were withdrawn from the All-England because Chong Ming suffered a stomach ailment. “We are getting better and better playing under the new scoring format. Kien Keat and I are also getting more and more confident with each other's game. We are more experienced and the country can count on us to give a better showing,” said Chong Ming. Besides Chong Ming-Kien Keat, the Malaysian team for the Finals have veteran Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah as the second ranked pair and the doubles cast is completed by Choon Eng and rookie Tan Boon Heong.
