Man Wei Chong (left) and Tee Kai Wun. - AP
KUALA LUMPUR: Stay humble, keep a low profile, work hard, remain consistent and maintain a winning mentality.
These are the traits national coaching director Rexy Mainaky believes will be the key to newly-crowned Indonesian Masters men's doubles champions Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun enjoying more success.
"I hope Wei Chong and Kai Wun will keep a low profile while continuing to work hard in training and staying consistent.
"Looking at their performance, from the first round till the final of the Indonesia Masters, (we could see) they played with confidence,” he said.
The sixth seeds created a major upset as they silenced the crowd at the iconic Istora Senayan to topple home favourites and top seeds Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto 21-11, 21-19 in just 38 minutes to capture the title on Sunday (Jan 26).
The victory saw the world number 13 pair take home US$37,525 while the Indonesians pocketed US$18,050.
This marked the duo’s maiden Super 500 title and a historic first title for Malaysia in men’s doubles at the Indonesia Masters, with Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei clinching the women's doubles crown in the 2011 edition.
Meanwhile, Rexy lamented that lady luck deserted top national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah in Sunday's final, thus denying them the chance to take home their first title of the season.
The Malaysians went down fighting 12-21, 21-17, 18-21 to South Korea's Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Hee-yong in the title showdown.
Rexy said although Pearly-Thinaah played well, "a few moments of hesitation in the decider allowed Hye Jeong-Hee Yong to capitalise and grow in confidence”.
The doubles expert from Indonesia was also quite pleased by the overall performance of Malaysia's other representatives, including 2022 men’s doubles world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who fell 18-21, 15-21 to Wei Chong-Kai Wun in the semi-finals.
"Our players’ performed quite well at the Indonesia Masters and I hope they continue to remain consistent," he said.
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