Koo Kien Keat – Tan Boon Heong and Lee Chong Wei through to the Top-8 in Malaysia Open GP Gold 2011
Malaysia’s Men’s Doubles pair, Koo Kien Keat – Tan Boon Heong and Men’s Singles shuttler, Lee Chong Wei, have booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open GP Gold 2011 after defeating their opponents in the round-of-16, played at Alor Setar,
Malaysia, on May 5.
Koo Kien – Tan Boon worked well this time against the junior compatriots Chooi Kah Ming – Ow Yao Han, who won the Men’s Doubles title in the 2009 Junior World Championships. The top seeds took only 21 minutes to tame the younger team-mates in a straight-game
match with a 21-9 and 21-13 scoreline.
Kah Ming – Ow Yao did get the better of their senior opponents in last month’s Kuala Lumpur Open, where the young duo defeated Koo Kien Keat – Tan Boon Heong in the first round of the tournament. However, this time the experienced pair and top seeds turned
the tables and showed their true potential.
In the Men’s Singles category, there is only one Malaysian shuttler left in the draw. He is none other than the World Number 1 and defending Champion, Lee Chong Wei. The top seed won against Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia after a good fight, particularly in
the second set, where the Indonesian was leading the game with a huge difference at 16-6.
“I was disorientated today. I made quite a number of unforced errors. I was way behind in the second game but I did not give up,” said the top seed.
Chong Wei further added, “Fortunately, I was patient enough to finish him off in straight games. I have to be more focused tomorrow.”
At the Top-8 stage, Koo Kien – Tan Boon will be up against the talented pair of Kenichi Hayakawa – Hiroyuki Endo from Japan, whereas the top seed, Chong Wei, will be playing against Brice Leverdez of France, who outclassed Beryno Wong of Malaysia in the
pre-quarterfinal of the Championship. It will be good match as the French shuttler is playing at his best and is capable of pulling off a few upsets.
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