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Wednesday July 22, 2009

Pairs to work on overall skills for World Juniors

KUALA LUMPUR: The national junior doubles shuttlers will be out to strike a balance in their game after experiencing a high and low in the recent Asian junior championships.

And coach Yap Kim Hock will work on improving their overall skills to make them more potent for their challenges in the World Juniors, which be held in Alor Setar from Oct 23-Nov 1.

Two boys’ pairs made significant impacts in the Asian Juniors. They were Pang Zheng Lin-Ong Jian Hao and Ow Yao Han-Yew Hong Kheng.

In the mixed team event, the new combination of Zheng Lin-Jian Hao played crucial roles in helping Malaysia nail the title.

In the individual competition, the attention was on top seeds Ow Yao Han-Yew Hong Kheng, who fell just short of winning the title, losing to fast attacking Indonesians Angga Pratama-Rendy Yohanes Sugiarto in the final. Kim Hock said that he attributed the inconsistent performances of the Malaysian pairs to the lack of strong all-round skills in their game.

“They are either good in attacking or in defensive play. They are fast but lack accuracy. Having one good skill in their game is not enough. There should be a balance,” he said.

“And it is my job to work on these areas for the next three months ahead of the World Juniors to make them more complete players.

“Our pairs failed to defend the Asian Juniors’ boys’ doubles title. I will try my best to get them ready for the World Juniors and hope they succeed in retaining the title.”

Last year, Mak Hee Chun-Teo Kok Siang won both the Asian and world junior boys’ doubles titles.

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