One of Malaysia's most talented badminton stars, Razif Sidek, gave a most encouraging assessment of the newly crowned AE men's doubles champions, Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong as having surpassed many of their opponents in attack, defence, craft, pace and power and deception. This was reported in today's Star Sport by Rajes Paul as follows: Tuesday March 20, 2007 Tan and Koo boast of having all-round strength, says Razif By RAJES PAUL PETALING JAYA: Malaysian hotshots Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong have been hailed as the players of the new badminton era following their superb performances as a pair in just a short period of just less than six months. And they certainly look good to continue plundering as the world of badminton evolves under the 21-point best-of-three games rally scoring format. With their fiery pace and exciting attacking style of play, the duo are now seen as the great hope to become the first Malaysian world champions in the Championships, which will be played at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil in August. They have also raised Malaysia's hopes of winning their first-ever gold medal in the Olympics in Beijing next year. The back-to-back titles in England and Switzerland have taken their tally to four in just six tournaments. En route to the four titles – the others being at the Asian Games in Doha last December and the Malaysian Open the following month – they had beaten higher ranked pairs, outclassed experienced opponents and tamed the old hands in the game. Former national doubles ace and national chief coach Razif Sidek, who won the 1982 All-England title with brother Jalani, said that Kien Keat-Boon Heong had showed with their incredible results that they were now the pair to beat in world badminton. “Winning the Asian Games gold and the All-England title are excellent achievements. We have to acknowledge that they are the best pair in the field since the format of scoring changed to the 21-point system,” said Razif. “Malaysia are lucky indeed to find such a talented combination to achieve such great results in just a short period. They complement each other so well as a pair.” Razif added that former top pairs had one major specialty in their game but Kien Keat-Boon Heong had all of everything. He pointed out that his partnership with Jalani was hailed as one with the best defence; the strength of South Koreans Park Joo-bong-Kim Moon-soo were in their fast drives; the hallmark of China's Li Yongbo-Tian Bingyi were in their power; while many Indonesian pair, including Rexy Mainaky-Ricky Subagja, were brilliant in their skills. “It is not really possible to compare them with the previous top pairs in the world because the game was played under a different scoring format. But in the current situation, they are outstanding with their exciting style of play,” said Razif. However, he added that more work needed to be done for Kien Keat-Boon Heong to continue with their domination and to end Malaysia’s chase for the elusive World Championships title and Olympic gold. “In 1986, Jalani and I won about six to seven titles in a year. It is rare now to see one pair dominating the scene because staying consistently on top is no easy task,” said Razif. “I still think that they can improve on their attacking and defensive play. The most important thing though is for them to continue to work together. As long as this young pair do not have major differences and are committed towards the one goal of winning titles, they will go far.” On the role of coach Rexy, Razif said: “Malaysia have the talent. But some coaches have it in them to strike up the right combinations. “We are lucky that Kien Keat-Boon Heong were paired up. But having a good coach alone is not enough. Players must be able to execute game plans well. So far, the duo have done well.” Kien Keat has had different partners before including Gan Teik Chai and Chan Chong Ming while Boon Heong was a world junior champion with Hoon Thien How. Before the emergence of Kien Keat-Boon Heong, among the pairs who were dominant in world badminton were Danish veterans Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen and Candra Wijaya-Tony Gunawan when they featured for Indonesia. The Danes were unbeaten for six months last year while Candra-Tony, who won the 2000 Sydney Olympic gold medal, won two titles and had one runners-up finish since they teamed up together again last June.
Rasif Sidek Sizes Them Up To continue from the report by Rajes Paul in Star Sport: Attack Their attacking skills are impressive, especially after only combining for a short time. It is certainly the best game style to play under the 21-point rally scoring point system. And the good news is that thier attacking styles can still be improved. They are young and I am sure that they will only get better. Defence What makes them exceptional is that they have a very solid defence. They can return some shots that seem impossible to retrieve. We (brother Jalani and I) were known to have one of the best defensive styles of play. They have gone on the right direction. Craft I have to hand this to the boys for their brilliance. Both are extremely talented players. They can change the rhythm of play quickly. They can also vary the game at a very fast speed. There is plenty of variety in their game and it is enjoyable to watch them play. Pace and Power Both are quite fast, especially Kien Keat at the front of the court. They are very quick in anticipation. Despite playing at a furious pace, they can still control the game. Bout in terms of power, the Chinese pair (Cai/Fu) and Indonesians (Candra/Tony) are better. Deception Many times they catch their opponents off guard with the skilful execution of their shots. They vary their returns and it is difficult to read their game. Kien Keat can be very deceptive at fore court. Boon Heong is cool and calm and it is hard to predict the direction of the shuttle when he unleashes a smash. So to beat KKK/TBH, a pair must do better in the above departments or at least a majority of 3 out of 5.
if under old system? I am interested to know how would their performance be if under the previous 15 point system. Would KKK-TBH still be that good? I think it will be tougher.
yes.. i agree that its still hard to beat them even if its under the 15x3 scoring.. they have they speed, power and also placing.... ;p
Yes, KKK/TBH are all rounder. they can play well in every aspect, but still hv space for improvement..
physical fitness will be a crucial factor if they are to play under previous 15 points system which shouldnt be a problem for them....yet. coz they r stil young.
i think that report is slightly exxagerated. it remains to be seen how KKK/TBH will cope when their opponents have more time to study their game and try to counter it. no doubt technically a very strong pair, but only time will tell whether they go on to become legends as some predicted they might.
but by the time they reach certain age they should have no problem changing their style of play to a slower but tactical play.....like CW/TG.
2007 will be the year to prove that they have the potential to be the new coming legend in MD. If they can win a clean 70-80% of SS and maintain the rhythm (now is 75%, winning 3 out of 4 SS), probably they r as good as what have been mentioned in the report.
surely i will support TBH/KKK as they have many good years ahead of them. Candra and Tony do not have age on their side, so i wish them success in World Championship and Olympics.
i may be made to eat my words at the end of the season, but winning 70-80% doesn't seem likely, i would say even 50% in such a competitive field will be an achievement. as in korea, i think the home pairs will be very strong in their home series, namely the Denmark, China and Indonesia Opens.
i have no doubts that they can make it with the combination from mighty coach Rexy.....They will be needing his service to beat all the top pairs on their home ground. As for LCW, he really needs someone as good and as devoted as Rexy to guide him from his fall lately. From what I have seen, 70-80% of SS shouldnt be a problem for KKK/TBH, providing no injury occurs for them during this whole year as SS has been known for its hectic schedule (even Super Dan got injured).
As Rexy said, KKK/TBH lost to LJJ/HJM at Korea SS because they are playing at home crowd. Rexy said it will be 50-50 if they meet again in a neutral ground
First the Indonesian has the saying " Taufik said bluh, bluh, bluh" Now, the Malaysian has the saying " Rexy said bluh, bluh, bluh" and you all worship it like it is the absolute truth. Can't wait for the Chinese, "LYB said bluh, bluh, bluh." Until it is proven, anybody can trash talk and say this and that.
“We are lucky that Kien Keat-Boon Heong were paired up. But having a good coach alone is not enough. Players must be able to execute game plans well. So far, the duo have done well.” says Rasif So, a good coach who is able to get the best out of his trainees during training and make them gel and realise their strengths is one part of the equation only. The players must have the confidence and ability to complete part two of the equation by displaying their abilities on the court. Ultimately, it is the players who will determine the final result of the match, not the coach.
