Rexy Mainaky sets up new partnerships of Men’s Doubles shuttlers for Olympic glory – Badminton News
The national doubles coach, Rexy Mainaky setup new partnerships in the Men’s Doubles category after the resignations of Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif, to send more pairs for the Olympic Games.
World Number Five ranked Koo Kien Keat and Tan boon Heong are the only Men’s Doubles shuttlers who have a good standing in the world and are expected to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics easily. However, Rexy wants one or two more pairs to qualify for
the mega event. The new pairs are formed by keeping this goal into account.
Ong Soon Hock, who was the partner of Mohd Tazari, is now set to play with Mak Hee Chun, a back-up shuttler in the national squad. While Hoon Thien How is still waiting for the decision of the coach as he has no partner yet to play with in international
badminton events.
The coach has decided that Ong Soon will continue to participate in international events with new partner, Mak Hee. Rexy said, “As a senior player, Soon Hock can guide Hee Chun, who is without a permanent partner after splitting ways with Tan Wee Kiong.
We will give this Soon Hock-Hee Chun combination a shot and see how well they can progress until end of the year.”
He further added, “Soon Hock is an elite player while Hee Chun comes under Kim Her’s squad. The elite and back-up squad train together three times a week. We can strike some kind of arrangement.”
While talking about the prospects of Men’s Doubles shuttlers for the Olympic Games, Rexy said, “Koo and Tan are the best bets to qualify for the Olympic Games next year. But we will do our best to push the other potential pairs to make the cut too.”
However, the final and official decisions regarding the new partnerships will be made in the meeting of the Training and Coaching Committee (CTC), which is set to be held on September 8. Right after the decision is made, the coach will start working on the
improvement of shuttlers with a target of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics.
Tags: