Tan Boon Heong - Koo Kien Keat surge into semi-final of the 2011 Japan Open Super Series
Malaysia’s Tan Boon Heong and Koo Kien Keat had to work extra hard against talented team-mates, Goh Wei Shem and Lim Khim Wah in the quarter-final match of Men’s Doubles at the 2011 Japan Open Super Series, in Japan, on Friday, September 23.
World Number Five pair of Tan Boon and Koo Kien worked really hard to get rid of Wei Shem and Khim Wah, who are currently ranked at 43rd spot in the Men’s Doubles world standings. The third seeds, Tan Boon and Koo Kien finished-off the match in
three sets by taking 44 minutes.
The opening set progressed according to expectations, as the higher ranked Malaysians remained in good control of the rallies. They dictated the pace of the game by working better at the net. The perfectly angled smashes of Tan Boon and Koo Kien destroyed
the defensive shots of the lower ranked shuttlers. The third seeds finished-off the game with a good margin of 21-16 in just 13 minutes.
Wei Shem and Khim Wah delivered a wonderful performance in the second set. They send a strong message to Tan Boon and Koo Kien, that they are ready to replace their country mates. The World Number Five pair tried to dominate the game, but failed as their
challengers played aggressive badminton this time.
Tan Boon and Koo Kien committed many mistakes in the set and lost the game to their spirited compatriots with a close margin of 19-21, in 17 minutes.
In the final set of this thrilling encounter, Tan Boon and Koo Kien played positive badminton from the starting points of the game and remained dominant in the opening half. They kept the pace high by moving fast inside the court and won the final game by
a 21-17 margin, in 14 minutes.
This quarter-final battle ended with the score of 21-16, 19-21 and 21-17. In the Men’s Doubles semi-final match, Tan Boon and Koo Kien will be up against top seeds, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng of China.
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