Malaysian pair of Hoon Thien and Mohd Zakry included in Malaysian squad for 2011 World Badminton Championships
Malaysian Men’s Doubles pair, Hoon Thien How – Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif, have found their place in the Malaysian squad for the 2011 World Badminton Championships, which will take place in London, England, on August 8.
The World Number 27 pair, Hoon Thien – Mohd Zakry, would consider themselves a touch lucky as they were selected by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), in place of Gan Teik Chai – Tan Bin Shen, who qualified on merit for the mega event. However,
Hoon Thien – Mohd Zakry are rewarded due to their consistent performances for the last six months.
The officials of BAM took two weeks to decide the second pair of Men’s Doubles, who will join forces with the Malaysian top seeds, Koo Kien Keat – Tan Boon Heong. After two weeks, it has been decided in the meeting of BAM that Hoon Thien – Mohd Zakry will
participate in the mega event.
The BAM secretary, Ng Chin Chai said, “In the last six months, Zakry-Thien How have achieved better results than Gan-Bin Shen and other national pairs to prove that they are currently the second best pair in the country.”
He further added, “We discussed this matter objectively in a meeting with our high performance director (Datuk James Selvaraj) and coaches (Rexy Mainaky and Tan Kim Her) yesterday. We felt that the inclusion of Zakry and Thien How was justified.”
Hoon Thien – Mohd Zakry have proved their worth in the recent events and have shown their mental strength by playing against the top pairs of the world.
While talking about the reason of their selection in the Malaysian squad for World Championships, Chin Chai said, “They reached the quarter-finals of two Super Series event – the Malaysia Open and All-England.”
Malaysia’s chances in the Men’s Doubles category are bright as Koo Kien – Tan Boon have recently won the title at the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold 2011. Hoon Thien – Mohd Zakry will be the second pair from Malaysia who will try to put up a good show to
justify their selection.
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