THE doubles pair of Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah carry a heavy responsibility to deliver one point if Malaysia harbour hopes of toppling Indonesia in a Thomas Cup quarter-final encounter tonight. And the veteran pair have pledged to come good this time after having failed to deliver what was expected of them on two previous occasions when Malaysia clashed against Indonesia. They made their debut in the Finals in 1996 but Malaysia failed to make it to the knockout stage. Two years later, Malaysia reached the final against Indonesia. Malaysia were 1-2 down and Tan Fook-Wan Wah failed to prevent Candra Wijaya-Sigit Budiarto from clinching the Cup for Indonesia. In the last final in Guangzhou in 2002, Lee Tsuen Seng had beaten Taufik Hidayat in the second singles to put Malaysia 2-1 up. But Tan Fook-Wan Wah failed to clinch the winning point for Malaysia, playing well below par to lose to the scratch combination of Halim Heryanto-Tri Kusharyanto. Malaysia's doubles chief coach Yap Kim Hock will field Tan Fook-Wan Wah as the first doubles pair against Indonesia and they can expect to meet the young pair of Luluk Hadiyanto-Yulianto Alven. The Indonesians could opt for the experienced combination of Flandi Limpele-Eng Hian. But Luluk-Yulianto have the better record over the Malaysians in team competitions than their more established teammates. The 29-year-old Tan Fook admitted that if Indonesia fielded Luluk-Alven, it would be tougher for them. “We do not have a good record against Luluk-Alven, especially in team competitions. They beat us in the semi-finals of the team event at the Vietnam SEA Games last year. We also lost in the semi-finals of the Swiss Open,” he said. “If they go for Flandi-Eng Hian, I feel we have a good chance to beat them. They have lost to us a few times in recent meetings. We are more comfortable playing against them.” Tan Fook added that their match against Indonesia tonight would be no different from previous encounters. “There is pressure on us every time we go in for a match against them. But it may be slightly more this time because we have to contribute at least one point to give our team a fighting chance to beat them,” he said. “But whatever it is, we are ready to play against anyone.” For Malaysia to stop Indonesia, they have to bag two points from the singles and one from the doubles. Tan Fook-Wan Wah thus have a heavy load on their shoulders this time because Malaysia have a weaker second doubles. Koo Kien Keat is again expected to partner Chew Choon Eng but they stand little chance of winning a match against either Flandi-Eng Hian or Candra-Tri Kusharyanto. Wan Wah said that they did not fear playing any of the Indonesian pairs. “This situation is not new to us. We know we can be the heroes or the bad guys tomorrow. But we certainly hope that we will not fail this time,” he said. TheStar
