Saturday October 13, 2012
Khim Wah and V Shem looking for better luck with old partners
By RAJES PAUL
KUALA LUMPUR: Former national No. 2 men’s doubles pair Lim Khim Wah and Goh V Shem are hoping for new breakthroughs with their previous partners.
On Monday, national doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her decided to reunite Khim Wah with Chan Peng Soon and V Shem with Ong Jian Guo.
Kim Her has also challenged both pairs to re-establish themselves before the year ends.
The diminutive Khim Wah had partnered Peng Soon for almost two years from 2007-2008 and did extremely well to nail their first Open title at the 2007 Thailand Open.
V Shem used to partner Jian Guo for more than two years from 2007-2009 and one of their most memorable outings was reaching the semi-finals of the World Junior Championships in Auckland in 2007.
The pairs were broken up last year, with Khim Wah-V Shem being paired up with the aim of taking over from national No. 1 Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong.
Though Khim Wah-V Shem got off to a promising start, they have been inconsistent of late.
This led to a review and, eventually, V Shem requested for a change of partners after admitting that they could not play together.
Khim Wah said he is ready to start afresh with Peng Soon again.
“Yes, I have done well with Peng Soon before. I won my first Open title with him. However, I could not continue playing with him because he was focusing solely on the mixed doubles event (with Goh Liu Ying for the London Olympic Games),” said Khim Wah.
“I am happy that our path has crossed once again. It will not take us too long to get used to each other. I have a good understanding of Peng Soon’s style of play.
“Our coach has named us for two Open tournaments – China Open (Nov 13-18 in Shanghai) and Macau Open (Nov 27-Dec 2) – and we will be out to make our presence felt.”
V Shem is also hoping to take his partnership with Jian Guo to greater heights.
“I am happy with my new partner. We used to play together during our junior days and I believe we can make our presence felt on the senior international stage,” said V Shem.
“Our first big test will be the Hong Kong Open (Nov 20-25). I want this partnership to last and, hopefully, we can rise together until the next Olympic Games (in Rio de Janeiro, 2016).”
Apart from the Khim Wah-Peng Soon and V Shem-Jian Guo, the other men’s pairs under Kim Her’s tutelage are Kien Keat-Boon Heong, Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong, Chooi Kah Ming-Ow Yao Han and Teo Kok Siang-Mohd Lutfi Zaim Abdul Khalid.
Malaysia are still searching for a younger pair to take over from Kien Keat-Boon Heong and, judging by the determination shown by this new breed of players, the country’s doubles department’s woe is expected to end soon with the likes of V Shem-Jian Guo and Khim Wah-Peng Soon making breakthroughs soon.
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