One more chance for Kien Keat, Boon Heong to reclaim their status – Badminton News
It seems Badminton Associations of Malaysia (BAM) has decided to stick to its old guns as Datuk Seri Nadzmi Mohd Salleh verified that Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong will continue as Men’s Doubles partners.
Earlier, both shuttlers came under fire for their long streak of failures at the international level and BAM showed intentions to split the World Number seven partnership and field them with youngsters.
However, Koo-Tan were not happy with these discussions and there was possibility that they will leave the national setup.
Now BAM president Nadzmi has cleared the air by stating that both players will be swinging arms together for one more year.
He admitted that governing body was not satisfied with their recent performance but still they decided to give them a fair chance to prove their worth.
He said, “We are frustrated with their results but they have appealed to us to keep them together. We are giving them one more chance and have set targets for them. We are being fair.”
The prime Malaysian pair is expected to raise country’s flag in World Championships next year and nation is hoping them to do better than their previous outing in 2010 when they fetched a silver medal.
Datuk Seri Nadzmi briefed the media that officials will be watching their performance closely and told that Koo-Tan can save their partnership by performing exceptionally well in coming esteemed events.
He said, “We will review their partnerships after next year’s World Championships. Winning a world title is not easy but we want them to, at least, reach the final.”
Moreover, he also revealed that both Men’s Doubles experts will be helping young shuttlers in their transition period but he clearly stated that Koo-Tan will join hands in prestigious badminton events.
He said, “The duo will be paired up with younger partners. They will be tasked with helping to raise the standard of their lesser known partners but they will play together in Grand Prix tournaments.”
Right now, the Malaysian duo is busy in Japan Open and they will be putting an extra effort to start a successful journey by ending their long streak of failures.
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