Badminton / Yonex-Sunrise Malaysia Open: Kien Keat, Boon Heong silence critics

KOO Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong answered their critics with a classy performance to clinch their second men's doubles title this year in the Yonex-Sunrise Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold at the Johor Baru City Council Indoor Stadium yesterday. But in the women's doubles, World No 1 Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui failed to recapture the form that won them the Indonesia Open when they were outclassed by China's Ma Jin-Wang Xiaoli, losing 21-9, 21-11 in 29 minutes.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong, known for their erratic display, brushed aside former national pair Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen 21-11, 21-13 in just 21 minutes to claim the winners' cheque for US$9,480 (RM33,483).

It was an encouraging victory though the Johor Baru meet was only a second tier event, for the pair who won the Swiss Open in March ahead of the World Championships in Hyderabad, India on Aug 10-16.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong displayed excellent understanding and near-perfect court control and it was evident from the start that they would win the title. They raced to a quick 18-10 lead before winning the opening game 21-11 in only eight minutes. Kien Keat-Boon Heong continued their momentum and led 13-10 before racing ahead for a 21-13 win to claim the title.
"We have played against them many times both in competition and training and it helped us to our win today (yesterday). I'm not sure whether we played well as our opponents were struggling to find their momentum, probably because of the draft in the stadium," said Boon Heong.

As for the world meet, Boon Heong said Kien Keat and himself will be more focused on training for the tournament.

"At this stage, it is tough to set targets. When we made our world meet debut in 2007, we could not handle the pressure. However, after years together we are more experienced and know what to expect.

"Past experiences have taught us never to take any pair lightly. We will discuss with coach Rexy (Mainaky) on our strategy for the world meet," added Boon Heong.

Pei Tty-Eei Hui's performance yesterday was unexpected but the duo felt the defeat is a blessing in disguise. "We could not move well against our speedy opponents. We tried to adjust but the China pair were just too good. It's a good learning experience, making us aware that we need to train harder for the world meet," said Eei Hui.

Rexy said pressure got the better of Pei Tty-Eei Hui. "They felt pressured because they were playing against lower ranked opponents. Most of the points earned by the China pair were because of Pei Tty-Eei Hui's mistakes today (yesterday)," said Rexy.

"It has nothing to do with stamina. They were just out of ideas to overcome the China pair."

Meanwhile, mixed doubles second seeds Zheng Bo-Ma Jin of China won their fourth consecutive title when teammates Xu Chen-Zhao Yunlei retired. Zhao Yunlei twisted her right knee with the score at 5-5 in the first game.

Reports by Ajitpal Singh