Kien Keat and Boon Heong get nod to play in ABC source : The star online. PETALING JAYA: All-England men’s doubles champions Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong have been given the go-ahead to take part in the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) in Johor Baru next month. And now that the pair are back in training after a one-week break, doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky has reminded them again that it was time for them to put aside all thoughts of celebrations and concentrate on their game. When training resumed yesterday, Kien Keat was absent from the morning session. He showed up for the afternoon session and said that he was not aware that he had to report back for training yesterday. Rexy is optimistic that Kien Keat-Boon Heong will get back into top shape in time for the ABC, which will be held from April 10-15. The ABC would provide the duo a good opportunity to break into the top eight of the world rankings ahead of the World Championships in Bukit Jalil in August. Kien Keat-Boon Heong were outside the top 100 at the start of the year and their strong run in winning four titles in six international outings has put them at number 10. After finishing as runners-up in their first international tournament at the Japan Open last October, Kien Keat-Boon Heong went on to win the first Asian Games badminton gold medal for Malaysia in 36 years in Doha last December. Besides the All-England crown, Kien Keat-Boon Heong also bagged the Malaysian and Swiss Open titles. “They can recover fast and I am not worried about them physically. However, there is room for them to improve mentally,” said Rexy. “We have just started training and I don't know how the various functions they had attended to celebrate their success in winning the All-England and Swiss Open would affect them. “I was hoping that Koo would turn up for training in the morning but he didn’t show up. My calls (to him) went unanswered.” The former Indonesian doubles ace reflected on his own commitment as a player. “I went back to training almost immediately after I won the Olympic gold medal (with Ricky Subagja in Atlanta in 1996),” said Rexy. “The press came to interview us the day we returned home. We were back on court two days later. There were no long celebrations.” The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) are expected to submit their entries for the ABC today. the thing that i'm afraid offf..uhhh.. ..
C'mon, why should it look fishy ? If he said he did not know there was training, he could be sleeping and that would be a fair thing to do, wouldn't it ? You are a stirrer !
DAILY EXPRESS NEWS [FONT=Verdana, Arial][SIZE=-1]Kien Keat-Boon Heong ready to spearhead ABC challenge Kuala Lumpur: All England men's doubles champions Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong will be ready to spearhead the country's challenge at the Asian Badminton Confederation (ABC) championship to be held in Johor next month. "They will be ready for the challenge although they have been going around the country and attending various functions," said national doubles coach Rexy Mainaky. The duo who were busy attending various thanksgiving functions since arriving from their victorious outings at the All England and Swiss Open last week, resumed training Tuesday for the ABC. ----> hahhahaha, true enough, busy attending functions since arrival to home country last week !!! They really take advantage !! Rexy said Kien Keat-Boon Heong would be among three pairs competing in the championship together with veteran pair Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah and youngsters Ong Soon Hock/Tan Bin Shen. ----> wat? only 3 pairs are playing?? how about the 2 new combinations? The ABC championship which offers US$125,000 in prize monies will be a good platform for Kien Keat-Boon Heong to prepare for the Singapore Open (May 1-6) and Indonesian Open (May 7-13). The duo will hopefully do well in the ABC because the championship offers valuable points in their bid to qualify for the World Championship on merit. ----> really so crucial, wat is the different, since they have already qualified? The World Championship, to be hosted by Malaysia at Bukit Jalil, is scheduled for Aug 13-19 and the cutoff date for qualifying is May. Apart from the three doubles pairs, men's singles defending champion Lee Chong Wei and Hafiz Hashim are also expected to feature in the championship. ----> again only 2 of them?? why no juniors playing?? Last year, players from 19 countries took part in the championship, held at the same venue. - Bernama [/SIZE][/FONT]
