Sunday March 17, 2013
Vivian-Khe Wei shown the exit in Swiss Open semi-finals
By KNG ZHENG GUAN
End of the road: Vivian Hoo (top) and Woon Khe Wei found South Koreans Lee So-hee-Shin Seung-chan too strong and went down 21-17, 21-19 in the semifinals of the Swiss Open GP Gold in Basel Saturday. PETALING JAYA: Malaysians Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei’s gallant run in the Swiss Open GP Gold came to an end in the semi-finals after losing to South Koreans Lee So-hee-Shin Seung-chan in Basel yesterday.
Vivian-Khe Wei, ranked No. 25 in the world, found the world junior champions simply too strong and went down 21-17, 21-19 in 42 minutes in the women’s doubles.
But the pair can return home with their heads held high after a highly productive European campaign. They reached the quarter-finals of the All England for the first time last week.
Playing in only their second tournament together since Khe Wei suffered a knee injury three months ago, they defeated world No.15 Anneke Feinya Agustin-Nitya Krishinda Maheshwari of Indonesia in the first round.
On Friday, Vivian-Khe Wei did even better. They stunned world No. 10 Duanganong Arookesorn-Kunchala Voravichitchaikul of Thailand 21-16, 21-19 in the quarter-finals.
Unfortunately, their lack of competitive matches showed yesterday as the young Koreans demonstrated superior speed and power to take the first game.
Vivian-Khe Wei briefly held the upper hand when they led 7-1 in the second game.
But the Koreans, the world No. 19, stepped it up once more. Taking an aggressive approach, they reeled off 10 straight points and then surged to a 19-12 lead.
The Malaysians tried to stage a fightback but So-hee-Seung-chan stood firm to book a place in the final.
“We knew it was going to be a tough match. It’s disappointing to lose in the semi-finals,” said Vivian.
“This means that we still have a lot of work to do.
“Overall though, I’m quite happy with our performance in the All-England and Swiss Open. Hopefully, it’ll get better in the next few tournaments,” added Vivian.
With Vivian-Khe Wei out, Malaysia now have no more interest in the championships.
Earlier on Friday, men’s singles shuttler Chong Wei Feng and the men’s doubles pairs of Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah and Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong were shown the exit in the quarter-finals.
Wei Feng gave a better account of himself this time against Dane Jan O Jorgensen, losing 13-21, 21-14, 21-14. At last week’s All-England, Wei Feng was beaten 21-11, 21-14 in the first round by Jorgensen.
Third seeds Thien How-Wee Kiong were a total letdown. They lost 21-15, 22-20 to sixth seeds Chai Biao-Hong Wei of China.
V Shem and Khim Wah never stood a chance against top seeds Ko Sung-hyun-Lee Yong-dae of South Korea, losing 21-7, 21-19.
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