PETALING JAYA: It will be an uphill task for Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Malaysian Open from Jan 10-15, but they are not losing their heads.
The men’s doubles pair have been handed a tough draw as they will take on second seeds Marcus Fernaldi-Kevin Sanjaya of Indonesia in their opening match at the Axiata Arena.
World No. 19 Wei Chong-Kai Wun went down fighting 21-23, 19-21 to the 2018 Asian Games gold medallists known as the Minions in their previous meeting at the Japan Open in August.
Wei Chong believes that Marcus, who is recovering from a leg surgery, is the reason behind the Indonesian pair’s inconsistent performance which caused them to lose their No. 1 ranking in the world since September 2017. They have now dropped to No. 23.
Despite being the higher-ranked pair on paper, Wei Chong said they knew where they stood against the world class pair.
“This match will definitely be intense based on the former world number one’s vast experience, not to mention the number of international titles that they have won,” said the 23-year-old Wei Chong.
“We are looking at different strategies to overcome them. We’ve an idea but they may change their game plan too. We’ll be ready with the best strategy.”
The 22-year-old Kai Wun admitted that it will be a good opportunity to make good use of Marcus-Kevin’s inconsistent performance, but he believes that the Indonesian pair have not lost their touch.
“Hopefully, we can take advantage of their inconsistent performance but it will not be easy.
“They have the skills and powerful smashes but we are prepared for it.
“Playing in front of the home crowd and with the support of family members will spur us to achieve a positive outcome,” he added.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun won two Super 300 World Tour titles (Taiwan Open and Syed Modi International) this year and they are hoping to break into the top 12 and collect qualification points for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“We want to win the Super 500 tournament and hope to advance into the quarter-finals or semi-finals in all the tournaments we participate in.”
