Kien Keat, Boon Heong hungry to end chase for the big one
By RAJES PAUL
KUALA LUMPUR: National doubles shuttlers Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong are all ready to end their elusive chase for a major title this year at the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
They are the most successful pair in the country but have yet to win a major crown this year.
They came close at the World Championships in Paris in August but lost to Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China in the final.
Kien Keat said it was “time for us to nail a big one”.
“Boon Heong and I are now focused on winning all the majors. We are not going to look at smaller tournaments anymore,” said Kien Keat.
Pair on a mission: Koo Kien Keat (right) and Tan Boon Heong have yet to win a major title this year.
“It will be all about making history and creating records ... so I am really taking this Asian Games seriously.”
If Kien Keat-Boon Heong can defend the Asian Games gold, they will be the second Malaysian pair to do so. Tan Yee Khan-Ng Boon Bee won the gold medal at the 1962 Jakarta Games and 1966 Bangkok Games.
In fact, Boon Bee is Malaysia most successful player in the series as he went on to win the men’s doubles gold in his third consecutive Asiad at the 1970 Bangkok Games with Punch Gunalan.
Kien Keat, who won three gold medals at last month’s Commonwealth Games in India, said they were prepared mentally and physically. “The only problem with Boon Heong and I is that we are slow starters and sometimes our opponents take advantage of this,” he said.
“We did not take part in the last two tournaments in Denmark and France.
“Boon Heong and I need regular competitions to keep us on our toes. Hopefully, we will be on guard.”
Kien Keat-Boon Heong will be Malaysia’s flag bearers for the first time but said it would not put any undue pressure on them.
“In fact, we hope to be good role models for the whole Malaysian contingent. Hopefully, our determination to bring glory to the country will also inspire others in the team,” said Kien Keat.
Asked about their challengers in the Asiad, Kien Keat said: “For now, our main challengers are Cai Yun-Haifeng but we will not underestimate others, like Markis Kido-Hendra Gunawan of Indonesia and South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung, although they have not been playing well lately.”
Kien Keat-Boon Heong, however, will have to be wary of South Korean darkhorses Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong. The pairs are likely to meet in the quarter-finals.
The others in the Malay­sians’ half are Taiwan’s Fang Chieh-min-Lee Sheng-mu, China’s Guo Zhengdong-Xu Chen and Indonesia’s Mohd Ahsan-Alven Yulianto.
The fight will be more intense in the lower half of the draw, which includes second seeds Markis-Hendra, Jae-sung-Yong-dae and Cai Yun-Haifeng.
Malaysia’s second pair of Mak Hee Chun-Tan Wee Kiong will probably face Markis-Hendra in the second round. But first, they must get past Japan’s Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa.
