Kim Her feels the duo of Kien Keat and Boon Heong has a long way to go – Badminton news
The Malaysian doubles head coach Tan Kim Her dismissed the chances of the duo Kien Keat-Boon Heong to perform beyond expectations in All England Open, which starts in Birmingham on Tuesday.
Despite the fact that the Malaysian pair delivered stunners in last few weeks the coach still feels that the duo of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong has a long way to go to reach the glory in the All England Open.
The duo played its vital role in Thomas Cup preliminaries, held in Macau last month, to ensure Malaysia’s presence in the Thomas Cup finals. They dazzled the World Number four Korean pair Ko Sung Hyun-Yoo Yeon Seong with their lustrous performance.
The coach Kim Her has a high regard for their brilliance but he is not ready to set any heavy target for them in the All England Open and gives them light wings to fly.
He said, “Macau was a good motivation for them but I am not going to set them a target. They should take it one match at a time. Let them beat the Japanese pair in the first round first. ”
The draw put them against comparatively weak Japanese opponents Naoki Kawamae-Shoji Sato in opening round. The win will pit them against Hong Wei-Shen Ye of China in second round but it is not going to be smooth sailing for them as the Chinese have outclassed
them in the past.
The Malaysian duo’s current form indicates that Kien Keat and Boon Heong can make into quarterfinals and firework is expected in their encounter with World Number two pair Jae Sung-Yong Dae as the Malaysians will be sweating hard to end the losing streak
to their Korean rivals.
However, the coach is not eyeing the quarterfinals and just wants his duo to concentrate on first round matches only.
Kim Her said, “I always remind Kien Keat-Boon Heong to become hunters and target the opponents but they must also be prepared and be realistic. Let’s not talk about beating Jae Sung-Yong Dae yet as Kien Keat-Boon Heong’s resurgence has just begun.”
The duo of Kien Keat and Boon Heong could not stretch their legs properly in practice sessions as they were subjected to Selangor Open right after the Thomas Cup preliminaries.
Kien Keat performed well matching up with Lim Khim Wah in Selangor Open but steady progress is needed to earn the due respect.
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