Friday April 27, 2007 Rexy wants Koo-Tan to be world No 1 By RAJES PAUL KUALA LUMPUR: Hotshots Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong have been targeted to become the country’s first men’s badminton pair in three years to clinch the world number one spot by the end of this year. And to get them moving on the right track, coach Rexy Mainaky has decided to send them for the upcoming Indonesian Open after all. The tournament in Jakarta is scheduled for May 8-13 and it is the sixth round of the inaugural Super Series after the Singapore Open next week. Rexy had wanted to send Kien Keat-Boon Heong only to the Singapore Open following their uninspiring performance in the Asian Badminton Championships in Johor Baru two weeks ago. He was particularly annoyed with the way the duo faltered in the final against veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah. But the duo’s commitment in the training over the last one week has prompted Rexy to give them the nod to compete in the Indonesian Open. No Malaysian pair have reached the top of the world rankings since Tan Fook-Wan Wah claimed the spot in August, 2004. Based on recent performances, Rexy said that Malaysian pairs could end the year by occupying the first two spots in the rankings. “Call me ambitious but I hope to see Malaysian pairs taking the top two spots by the end of the year,” said Rexy after a training session at Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara yesterday. “The target for Kien Keat-Boon Heong is to become the world number one. I have made up my mind to send them to the Indonesian Open. They will also compete in other major tournaments. “It will be great if Tan Fook-Wan Wah or any of the other pairs in the team can also make it to the top two. This is the challenge to further push the men’s doubles players to stay on their toes.” Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who have won four titles in seven tournaments since they were paired up last Octobers, are now ranked at number seven – one rung below Tan Fook-Wan Wah. The third highest ranked Malaysian pair are Tan Bin Shen-Ong Soon Hock at number 18 followed by Chan Chong Ming-Hoon Thien How (56). The reshuffled combinations of Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Zakry Abdul Latif and Gan Teik Chai-Lin Woon Fui are out of the top 100. Besides reaching the world number one spot, the other major targets for the men’s doubles pairs, especially Kien Keat-Boon Heong, include winning the world title this year and striking gold at the Olympics next year. The World Championships will be held at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Aug 13-19 while Beijing will host the Olympics next August.
they might get the no.1 spot...but the question is, if they were to be the world no.1, can they hold the no.1 position for a long period of time???
I believe LWW/CTF occupied the no.1 spot at one time. Can we say that LWW/CTF are up there with the best like Rexy/Ricky or Kim/Park or LYB/TBY??? I would say no. You need a string of titles to be up there with these legends. Will KKK/TBH get the no. 1 spot by Dec 07??? My answer is it would be tough for them. I give them a 50% chance of getting there. Anyway, Dec 07 is a long way off. We should look at at the coming Sing & Indo Open. So, my next question is will KKK/TBH win the Sing or Indo Open??? My answer is no. I would love to be proven wrong.
Baby steps one at a time. Let's give them some time to prove themselves. No point comparing them to the legends when they're just starting out. Hopefully KKK can keep the serious commited attitude and keep the wins going.
Is there a double pair who managed to become World no 1 only 12 months after they pair up? I find Rexy's ambition getting a bit too high though. Hopefully, KKK/TBH are not going to suffer "burn out" too soon. Anyway, all the best to the future legend-to-be, KKK/TBH. For a badminton fan, I am looking forward to watching KKK/TBH winning more tournaments, hopefully next week and prove YellowString wrong.
I think is Good for Rexy to set high target to get them esp. KKK to be on the ground. World No.1 by end of the year, yes is achievable and they probably will. World Championship this year, may be not. Olympic Gold in 2008, may be not, think China has a very good chance, home court advantage.
i believe rexy when he said those two have shown good commitment in training. and such, i have faith that KKK and TBH can at least get to the semi finals of SO and IO. all the better if they can get to the finals of SO and IO. can they reach no 1 by the end of the year? maybe, if the rest of the top teams stagnant in terms of their performance. but i highly doubt that. nonetheless, boy, how do i wish they will get there by the end of the year. lets see if KKK can get his act together and TBH and improve more. Go boys!!!!! jia you! lets get the SO and IO over with first before we talk more on the WC and Olympics.
It's good to have high standards. It's good to have high hopes and expectations for the boys. What's worse than having too high ambition is too low or none at all. Rexy is doing a fine job shaping up the champions in them. KKK and TBH has already proved that they can contend with the top pairs when they're serious, this time around they should prove that they can be consistent.
If you want to be No. 1 there is no two ways about it. No easy way out. Pressures and expectations are part and parcel of the game today. All the top world class athletes face it. If you want that Olympic gold and WC, you gotta sweat and work for it. No one is gonna hand it on a platter to them.
This is MD we are talking about. No pair holds the spot for long periods of time. But they can periodically reoccupy that spot, like Eriksen and Lungaard. Unless Rexy wants Koo-Tan to win every tournament they enter...
Who dont want to win in every tournament? THe players aim to win every tournament they enter, but of course it is hard to do that. And KKK/TBH also wants to be in the Top Ranks. Not only Rexy.
i read bout dis yesterday.. i was so happy reading rexy's comment bout his players kk-bh... no one perfect lah... as long as dey show best performance... i think e'thing will goes smooth.. rexy knew wat he was talking bout... he observed dem... dey got potential to go far... it's not impossible 4 dem to be at de top... if rexy himself had stated tat dey can be no 1, as he is de person who coaching & observing kk-bh... i think dey can... in dis world nothing impossible.. N i'm sure rexy will work harder too to ensure tat de duo maintain their gud performance... so support dem... we dun have to predict their luck... juz leave it to God...
Why do you live so much in the past? Enjoy the present. Anyway, what's so great about being WR1 or even WR2 when you don't win titles? And with the new draw rules, being seeded is just academic;there's no real advantage. If the MD is really superb, any draw should be fine.
Im very sure they are very pressure After the domination, even more pressure, every match is a crucial stage to climb higher
It's called benchmark, dude. Care to elaborate a little further your claims on the seeding system being academic?
Friend they were unseeded and had to qualify and won it!!!! they know how to do it they done it without seeding the seeding doesnt matter to them they can win