Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong surge into third round of the 2011 World Championships
Malaysia’s Men’s Doubles specialists, Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong had to work extra hard to get rid of the lower ranked Chinese pair of Qui Zihan and Liu Xiaolong in the second round of the 2011 World Championships, in London, on Wednesday, August 10.
World Number Four and the fourth seeded pair in the Championship, Koo Kien and Tan Boon emerged as the winners against the spirited youngsters from China in a three-set battle which displayed wonderful badminton from both sides.
Koo Kien – Tan Boon opened their campaign in a remarkable fashion as they found no resistance at all from their Chinese opponents in the first set. They played perfect badminton and finished-off the opening game in an impressive manner by winning it with
a 21-6 score on the board.
However, the Chinese worked well in the following set by changing their strategy and tactics. They started to attack more and their jump smashes coupled with front court killings earned them the second game with a tight score of 22-20.
However, in the third set, the higher ranked Malaysian’s controlled affairs by playing their normal and composed game. They won the deciding set with a decent score of 21-15 by working to their full potential. The concluding result of the rubber-set battle
was 21-6, 20-22 and 21-15.
After winning the battle, Tan Boon said, “It was our first match in the tournament and, naturally, we had to make some adjustments. What is important is that we recovered and it all ended well.”
He further added, “They forced us to retreat to a defensive game and that limited our movement. Overall, we are happy with our game.”
While talking about their performance, Koo Kien also admitted, “Being our first match, I think the way we won it is acceptable. But we cannot continue to play like this.”
In today’s Men’s Doubles third round, Koo Kien and Tan Boon will play against Lin Yu Lang and Chen Hung Ling of Taiwan.
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