World No. 1 pair seek timely boost for world meet By RAJES PAUL KUALA LUMPUR: National singles shuttler Lee Chong Wei lived up to his world number one status by lifting his sixth title of the year at the Macau Open. Now, it is the turn of top men’s pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong to take over the show. World number one Kien Keat-Boon Heong will be seeking a timely boost for the World Championships when they get into action in the Taiwan Open, which begins tomorrow. The Taiwan Open is the last international tournament for the top players to assess their form and fitness before the world meet in Paris on Aug 23-29. Unlike Chong Wei, former All-England champions Kien Keat-Boon Heong have won only one title – the Malaysian Open in January – this year. Kien Keat-Boon Heong are the top seeds in the Taiwan Open but they can expect a tricky route in their bid to win honours. Apart from three strong South Korean pairs – Macau Open champions Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong, former All-England champions Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae and rising stars Kim Ki-jung-Shin Baek-cheol – the others in their half are Indonesians Luluk Hadiyanto-Candra Wijaya and Malaysians Chow Pak Chuu-Hong Chieng Hun and Goh Wei Shem-Teo Kok Siang. In the lower half, with second seeds Alven Yulianto-Hendra Gunawan are Fang Chieh-min-Lee Sheng-mu of Taiwan, Cho Gun-woo-Kwon Yi-goo of South Korea and Malaysians Mak Hee Chun-Tan Wee Kiong, Chan Peng Soon-Lim Khim Wah, Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng. National coach Pang Cheh Chang is hoping that Kien Keat-Boon Heong will not be their own worst enemies. “It is my hope that they can overcome the challenges from within. They can play true to their abilities if they put their minds to it,” said Cheh Chang. Cheh Chang also wants to see how the Malaysians would fare against one particular pair – Sung-hyun-Yeon-seong. This Korean pair has been a handful for the Malaysians, who have lost to them at the Swiss and Singapore Opens this year. Barring any upsets, their paths may cross in the quarter-finals. “It will be great if our boys get the opportunity to play against this Korean pair. If they win, it will be good for their morale ahead of the world meet,” said Cheh Chang. In the absence of Chong Wei, Malaysia will be banking on Mohd Hafiz Hashim to keep the flag flying in the singles event.
For me, I certainly hope they can bring out their best in this tournament, although there is still not garantee for the title even with their best....just wanted to watch this pair play with spirit and desire to win...that all, minimum expectation !! Does KKK lost his weight already...???
LOL means i don't have 100% full confidence in them.. there are many factors behind it.. fatigue would be 1 of the factors la.. and if u wanna know kkk lose weight already or not, u have to watch him on bet365 or maybe on tv on saturday against lee yong dae and his partner
Yup, they should treat this as if WC..imo. If not, why are they being sent to here? to lose in early round again? come on, have faith in them
I don't think they will go all out here again. A pessimist's prediction, not to be taken too seriously : QF. Lose to Ko Sung Hyun/Yoo Yeon Seong.
haha they should treat this as if is wc? then if theywin this liao we should treat them like as if they win wc or not?
They are being sent to this tournament as a 'preparation' and can be considered as a warm up event for the WC.. If they win this, they should know what more to expect during the WC. As they are the players who play the game, not us. They will know the current condition
Koo/Tan will face Andhika Anhar/Hendra Setyo Nugroho in R32. I will be surprised if the INA pair wins this one.
Patient Hendrawan keeps faith in Hafiz PETALING JAYA: Many have run out of patience with Mohd Hafiz Hashim as far as his badminton career is concerned. But not his coach Hendrawan, who is quietly waiting for Hafiz to achieve a breakthrough win to justify his faith in the shuttler. In the absence of the ever reliable world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, the lanky Hafiz is seen as Malaysia’s best bet to win honours in the Taiwan Open, which begins today. Hendrawan, a former world champion, said he would be happy if Hafiz could at least reach the semi-finals of the Taiwan Open for a start. “Hafiz was showing good progress in training before a foot injury slowed him down a little since May. Now that he is better, he is trying to establish himself again,” said Hendrawan. Hafiz, who came under Hendrawan’s tutelage last year, did well to clinch the winning point against Denmark (3-2) to put Malaysia in the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup Finals at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil in May. Thanks to Hendrawan’s guidance, Hafiz has also managed to qualify for this year’s World Championships, which will be held in Paris from Aug 23-29. He missed the cut for the previous world meet. It took him some time to recover from a foot injury suffered during the India Open (after the Thomas Cup Finals). He competed in the Singapore Open and Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold but failed to impress. “He is certainly in better condition now. He reached the semi-finals of the Taiwan Open last year and it would be good if he can do the same. It will be a bonus if he can reach the final,” said Hendrawan. Hafiz has not won an Open title since bagging the second-tier international tournament in the Philippines in 2006. “A good outing here (at the Taiwan Open) will give him more confidence in his preparation for the Paris world meet,” said Hendrawan. Hafiz, who is currently ranked 20th in the world, will take on Taiwan’s Yu Jui-lin in the opening round. In his half are top seed Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam, Indonesian Simon Santoso, South Korean Lee Hyun-il and several Malaysians – Chong Wei Feng, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif, Pei Wei Chung and Beryno Wong. Second seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia is in the lower half with Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana and a handful of Malaysians – Lok Chong Chieh, Kar Seong Soo, Chan Kwong Beng, Liew Daren and Wong Choong Hann. “We hope that at least one of the back-up shuttlers will make it to the top eight this time,” said Hendrawan. At the Macau Open last week, only Daren broke the early round barrier to reach the quarter-finals, where he went down to the unheralded Wong Wing Ki of Hong Kong.
My prediction : Koo/Tan will win easily, the quality of this INA pair is far for being called Pelatnas Utama's MD.
Yohan Hadikusumo WIRATAMA / Ying Suet TSE (HK) beat Wee Kiong TAN / Khe Wei WOON (MAS): 21-16 21-17 (27 min) I thought this MAS XD pair is groomed for OG2012? hmm.... BOLEH... BOLEH... BOLEH...
