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Sunday February 22, 2009

Rosman feels doubles pair can regain All-England crown

By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: With South Korea experimenting with their line-ups and top Indonesian pair Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan not in the best of form, the battle for the All-England doubles title from March 3-8 will be an open affair.

And Malaysian doubles coach Rosman Razak hopes the current top pair of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong will seize the opportunity to show that they are back in business again by reclaiming the title they last won two years ago.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong showed glimpses of their old form when they beat the Korean top pair of Jun Jae-sung-Yong-dae to win the Super Series Master Finals in Kota Kinabalu in December.

However, they failed to chalk a repeat victory after losing narrowly to the same pair in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open last month.

The Koreans, however, will not be defending their All-England title as Jae-sung is undergoing national service and Yong-dae will partner Shin Baek-cheol.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong, the third seeds, received a relatively easier draw compared to their team-mates Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Latif, who are seeded fourth.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong are placed in the bottom half and thus avoided the two Korean pairings and also Olympic champions Kido-Setiawan, who are the top seeds.

However, the Indonesian pair’s focus have been thrown off track due to contractual disputes between the players and the national body back in Indonesia.

The first test for Kien Keat-Boon Heong should come when they enter the quarter-finals, where they are likely to be pitted against Denmark’s Mathis Boe-Carsten Mogensen.

The semi-finals should see them clash against either Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun of China or Danish second seeds Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen. The Malaysians have beaten both pairs before.

The players recently went for a four-day mental training camp under National Sports Science (NSI) expert Fred Tan in Kuching early this month and Rosman said it has certainly helped Kien Keat-Boon Heong to forge a more effective combination.

“They have been looking solid in training for the past few weeks. If they can produce it in the tournament, I would say they have a very good chance to win the All-England title.

“They have also beaten all the top pairs before, so there is no psychological barrier they need to overcome.

“Unlike the singles, the doubles field is open and Kien Keat-Boon Heong should try to go all the way to the final,” he said.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong were eliminated in the first round of the All-England last year by Japan’s Shuichi Sakamoto-Shintaro Ikeda but history is not likely to repeat.

Their first round opponents this year are England’s Andrew Ellis-Richard Eidestedt and the Malaysian pair should be able to pull through without trouble.

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