Koo Kien Keat Tan Boon Heong have to perform in the Thomas Cup Preliminary Round, says Tan Kim Her
Malaysia’s Doubles national coach, Tan Kim Her said that Men’s Doubles top pair of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong have to perform well and win their battles in the Thomas Cup Preliminary Round, starting from February 14, in Macau.
Kien Keat and Boon Heong, who are World Number Six at the moment, showed their brilliance in the simulation match against Teo Kok Siang and Goh V Shem in Kuala Lumpur last week and won it without any considerable resistance from their rivals.
However, the coach said that playing good badminton in simulation is a healthy sign but the shuttlers need to put up the same show in the qualifying round matches of Thomas Cup Finals.
Boon Heong and Kien Keat have been working hard in the national camp for the last two weeks at Kuala Lumpur and they showed a visible improvement in their attitude and effort.
Now they are in Macau and will start their campaign in the tournament against Hong Kong. However, their important match will be against South Korea which is supposed to be a challenging fight.
Kim Her is satisfied with the effort made by the players in training camp and wants them to prove their worth against the Korean shuttlers, who seem a little better on paper.
While talking about the performance of Kien Keat and Boon Heong in the simulation match, the coach said that it is satisfactory but the shuttlers need to perform well in the qualifying round of Thomas Cup Finals.
He said, "It is a good beginning for Kien Keat-Boon Heong but we cannot read too much into the performance of the players in a simulation, the real deal is the Thomas Cup qualifiers and that is where they must perform."
He further added, "Our main aim is the South Korean match where we must take one doubles and kill their chances. They will be aiming for two doubles and probably take the third singles. If one of their doubles lose, we should be able to beat them.”
Kim Her wants the shuttlers to deliver their maximum and show a fighting spirit while playing against the Korean team, which will help them to win the match and get a top position in their group.
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