Steady show: Man Wei Chong (left) and Tee Kai Wun made seven finals and have won four titles this year.
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun must take the bull by the horns and confront world No. 1 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang if they want to survive their opening Malaysian Open match (Jan 9-14).
National director of coaching Rexy Mainaky believes Wei Chong-Kai Wun have the ability to challenge the top China pair but they must not go into the match with a defeatist mentality.
Weikeng, 23, and Wang Chang, 22, have been a revelation on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) world tour where they made seven finals and have won four titles.
They were runners-up to Indonesians Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto in this year’s Malaysian Open but have won the India, Japan and China Opens as well as the China Masters en route to becoming the No. 1.
However, Rexy recalled Wei Chong-Kai Wun’s close battle with Weikeng-Wang Chang in the World Championships last 16 match where the Malaysian pair lost in three games (16-21, 21-14, 17-21) and felt that victory was possible.
The Indonesian chose his career as an example where he and Ricky Subagja constantly had to face the then top pair Park Joo Bong-Kim Moon Soo and must overcome the South Koreans in order to win titles.
“In the last meeting at World Championships, they (Wei Chong-Kai Wun) came close to beating the China pair, so this time they must fight for their victory,” said Rexy, a former Olympic and world champion.
“In fact, Wei Chong-Kai Wun led 14-9 but could not handle the situation when the China pair fought back.
“Weikeng-Wang Chang are the No. 1 but that doesn’t mean we must give up easily. If Wei Chong-Kai Wun want to go far in their career, they must rise above themselves in this kind of matches.
“Early in my career, I and Ricky used to play Joo Bong-Moon Soo in the first round but we won’t give up and will still aim for the title.
“If we lose heart after seeing the draw, it is better not to play. Sometimes, it sounds crazy to aim so high but for young pairs like Wei Chong-Kai Wun, they have to dream big if they want to achieve their true potential.”
Wei Chong-Kai Wun won the Taiwan Open and finished runners-up in the Arctic Open in Finland but have been bundled out in the preliminary rounds in most of the other meets.
Consistency and quality results will help Wei Chong-Kai Wun establish themselves as a better pair and they can start to do that by going for Weikeng-Wang Chang’s scalp in the Malaysia Open.
