Wednesday, August 1, 2012

London Olympics: Koo/Tan make the quarters



Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong are through to the quarterfinals of the men's doubles competition of the Olympic Games.
They defeated Howard Bach/Tony Gunawan of the United States of America 21-12, 21-14 to confirm their berth in the last eight with a workmanlike performance at the Wembley Arena.
They will take on world number 2 pair Chung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae on Tuesday to determine who takes the top spot in their group, a get a potentially easier path into the semis.
"We played to our potential and thus it was a rather easy day on the court. We are our worst opponents and once we get going, there is no stopping us," said Koo.
"Our plan was simple, keep the pressure on them and not let them into the game. That worked well as we exploited their defence with power play.
"Now we will be up against the Koreans and the key factor is to ensure we keep our momentum going."
It was an explosive start as the Malaysian pair raced to a 9-0 lead before conceding the first point. They upped the tempo from the beginning and gave the USA pair no chance to settle down with their fast and aggressive display.
At the break the Malaysians held a 11-3 break and did not let up their aggression to move to a 17-9 lead before wrapping up the first set 21-12 in just 11 minutes on the court.
The second was no different from the first as Koo/Tan were 6-2 ahead and played some delightful shots, catching their opponents off guard with trick shots.
A leaping smash by Tan from the baseline gave Malaysia an 11-4 lead, once again achieved in just four minutes and they were in cruise mode.
But Tony/Gunawan were not giving up without a fight and picked up four straight points to reduce the deficit to 7-11.
Koo/Tan realised the danger of allowing their opponents back into the game and upped the tempo, with speed and power their key ingredient to collect points.
And they wrapped up the second 21-14 with another sterling display

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