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Top pair only wary of compatriots

Rabu, 23 November 2005 08:06:45
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K.M. Boopathy

IT’S not the Indonesians but compatriots Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah who National No 1 pair Chan Chong Ming-Koo Kien Keat are worried about in their quest to win the Sea Games men’s doubles gold medal in Manila.

Although the Indonesians have dominated the men’s doubles, Chong Ming believes that Tan Fook-Wan Wah will be their biggest threat. Indonesia will be parading Luluk Hadiyanto-Alven Yulianto and Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan but Chong Ming is not worried about them. Tan Fook-Wan Wah are the defending champions and they will go all out for gold. We can beat the Indonesians but Tan Fook-Wan Wah will not be pushovers, said Chong Ming.

Our target is the gold and we have a realistic chance of achieving it. Based on the draw, we will only meet Tan Fook-Wan Wah in the final.

We train together and know each others’ game well and this will make it even tougher. However, this is our best chance and we must find a way to contain Tan Fook-Wan Wah.

Chong Ming-Kien Keat are seeded second and are expected to meet Markis-Hendra in the semi-finals while the other semi-final is likely to pit top seeds Luluk-Alven against Tan Fook-Wan Wah.

Chong Ming-Kien Keat have played Tan Fook-Wan Wah only once previously, in the quarter-finals of the Indonesian Open in September, but lost the encounter.

It has been a good year for Chong Ming-Kien Keat having reached the semi-finals of the World Championships and also clinched the Denmark Open last month.

Chong Ming, competing in his third Sea Games since 1999, was part of the Malaysian squad who won the team gold in 2001 but is still in search of an individual gold medal.

I missed the opportunity in 2003 due to a shoulder injury but we are having a good run now, said Chong Ming.

The Denmark Open victory has further boosted our confidence. We are comfortable facing top pairs and this will be important in our Sea Games campaign.

Winning the Sea Games doubles gold is not easy and it will be an honour to do so.

Malaysia have captured the Sea Games men’s doubles gold only four times since Indonesia started competing in 1977.

Razif and Jalani Sidek won it in Bangkok in 1985 while Cheah SoonKit won the title twice — first with Soo Beng Kiang in 1993 and then defended it with Yap Kim Hock in 1995, while Tan Fook-Wan Wah were victorious in 2003.

Perhaps, it’s Chong Ming-Kien Keat’s turn to prove in Manila that they are the best doubles pair in the region. (tvnz.co.nz)

Source: http://www.badmintonplanet.com/cgi-bin/news/1105/2221105.html

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