PETALING JAYA: It is not the thing he wants to hear. But doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky has promised to do everything he can to get top doubles pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong back to form for the World Championships in August. After having spoken to his charges, Rexy believes that he has made the right decision in withdrawing the pair from the Thailand Open (July 3-8) because another unexpected defeat would affect their confidence further. The duo's form has taken a dive after winning the All-England and Swiss Open titles in March. They suffered defeats by England's Anthony Clark-Robert Blair and the world number one Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun of China in the just concluded Sudirman Cup (world mixed team) championships in Glasgow. “Boon Heong told me that he has lost the feeling in his game. It was not the same as when they played in the Asian Games and All-England. I am worried about his performance because he is not playing well and it is affecting his partner too,” said Rexy. “Kien Keat's game is still okay but he explained that he may be covering up for his partner and that may look like he tends to be showing off at times. Stay home: Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong will likely see action at the Philippines Open next month. “But I am still worried about Boon Heong, who lost his fighting spirit. I have told them that they will not be playing in the Thai Open and they are okay with it. It's better for them to stay home and spend more time to get their game back on track.” Despite under-performing over the last two months, Rexy believes that the current world number two pair are still good bets to become the first Malaysian winners in the World Championships, which will be held in Bukit Jalil from Aug 13-19. Rexy said that he was not worried about too much pressure on just one pair because Malaysia have three other strong pairs to count on. The other pairs in the World Championships are Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Latif and Tan Bin Shen-Ong Soon Hock. Rexy has since softened his stance on Kien Keat-Boon Heong and hope they look at the defeats positively. “I was disappointed with the way they played but I have told them to learn from Fu-Cai. They also suffered a loss of form from the Asian Games right up to the All-England,” he said. “But they came back strongly to win the last two Super Series tournament (Singapore and Indonesia) and they were unbeaten in the Sudirman Cup. They have regained their confidence. “Kien Keat-Boon Heong are still young and the pressure may have got to them after they won a few consecutive tournaments. “But it is clear that they are struggling and we have to help them get back their confidence.” Rexy added that he might consider sending them to the Philippines Open (July 17-22). The China Open will be held in the week after the Philippines Open and there will be no more competition until after the world championships.
I think it is good that KKK/TBH stays home and get more improvement before going to play any tournaments...if they lose early and not ready, it may lead to their confident to a lower level....hope to see again their action...
Rexy pls do spank their asses for me.......kekeke...... I wanna see kkk/tbh version AG or AE again..........This current version proved to be useless, too many bugs...........no good.
oh no, boon heong, you must really get up on your feet! all your fans hate to see you losing your fighting spirit. jia you and all the best k?
Really hope to c spirited KKK n TBH again.. Everyone is dissapointed wif them but luckily Rexy still has faith on them.. GAMBATE!!
This pair is too dependent on Rexy. I respect Rexy a lot but putting all the bets on him alone is a risky strategy, not sure if BAM sees that. At the same time, without Rexy, the boys have nothing to bring home. This reveals a weakness, lack of discipline.
I noticed NOT the enthusiasm that they showed in their winning the ALL-England. The fire in the belly is gone-has the novelty of winning waned ? Sportsmen sometimes go thru the 'down' syndrome. The feeling of wanting to play hard deserts them. TBH might be going thru this phase. My cure for this is simple: 1. Go for a holiday (get refreshed) 2. Read a challenging book on motivation (if they lack any) 3. Do the HSC exam papers and start worrying about that career if they don't focus on their badminton (it may scare the **** out of them to think of anything better than playing badminton )
Do the HSC exam papers and start worrying about that career if they don't focus on their badminton (it may scare the **** out of them to think of anything better than playing badminton XBall, Yes HSC is sh**less scary and during my time in MAS was even more sh**lessly scary than now as it was linked to GCE...no need to take the test, just go abroad and do it overseas, easy then eating kachang puteh...I did the equivalent of form 6 in 4 months in Canada and score 85% average, if you think I am smart to pull that off then you are wrong, my MAS friends and Sing buddy did even better, practically ace the damn exam!!!Hahaha!
I failed my HSC because I played too much badminton. But I got into U and finished U in 2 1/2 years because it was easy. How do u work that out ?
Rexy feels morale is up with the doubles pairs after the Malacca camp. At the camp, players were asked to write to their partners about what they think of each other. I can imagine TBH saying to KKK that he hates the time when KKK went bald (the shininess reflected in his face) and KKK replying that he did that on purpose because TBH was a goodie-two-shoe (mama's boy). And then they apologised for being rude to each other and told Rexy they have said their peace and now ready to take on the world. And this is why Rexy thinks the pair is coming good again. Rexy sure knows how to fix a problem.
LOL, I have not accepted the position with them yet hehe . Still considering between IBM or Mckinsey in KL. Anyway, I hope KKK and TBH will rediscover the form that won them the first 4 titles. No matter how much Rexy may try to help, at the end of the day, KKK and TBH must reignite the fire themselves. KKK needs to loose that extra weight that he has put on, and TBH needs his sideline smashes back. Both of them need to find more weapons than just flat drives and forcing opponents at the net. They really need to vary their game to the extent that their core weapons that were so effective in the beginning can be reused again, amidst their new techniques. Their strong defense is also suspect at present, they used to be able to turn from defense to attack in an instant. Now they just defend and defend until they get shot dead.
True on the last bit that they defend until they are shot dead. I think it has to do with their 'driving' --- somehow they keep driving it into the net and therefore had to resort to lifting the shuttle. Once they get it back, the Chinese would be in danger again. I am not saying CAI-FU have not improved, they got their 'drives' back into service whereas KKK-TBH have lost it somewhat. Anyway, KKK-TBH are training extremely hard according to a friend and I expect a turnaround from them in the next tournament.
Yup, agree with that. Anyway, win or loose, they are still young and the sky is the limit for them. Everyone goes through a rough patch
correct me if I'm wrong, I think speed is another issue, if you are half a second slow, the shuttlecock already fly into different position, and this will cause you cannot return some good shot, also force you to return some bad shot, for example, if you react half a second faster, you may be able to return a nice net shot instead of lift the shuttlecock.
Well, the boys r still "boys" alright? They r still relatively inexperience as a pair, esp TBH. Rexy's guidance is crucial at the moment.
You are right, that's why KKK need to loose some of that weight he has put on . I think he attended too many functions since he came back from Europe, and ate too much. Rexy and Ricky went back to training after 2 days rest when the won the olympic gold, now that is dedication!!! I cannot imagine any Malaysian player doing that apart from LCW or WCH to be honest.
There is this natural biorhythms in all of us...badminton players no exception. A cyclic period of high and low peak performances in all our physiological functions. No one can mantains a super peak performance forever....even a great champion has to call it a day.
