Thien How has two months to improve physical condition

Two months without any competition is a perfect time for men’s doubles shuttler Hoon Thien How to slim down.
Yesterday, the tubby Thien How and his partner Tan Wee Kiong returned home after a rather satisfying outing in the Indonesia and Singapore Opens to show that their new partnership has a future.
In Indonesia, the world No. 57 duo did well to knock out Indonesia’s top pair Mohd Ahsan-Bona Septano en route to a last eight finish.
In Singapore, they gave eventual champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia a good fight before going down in the rubber in the second round.
The 25-year-old Thien How, who stands at 1.7m and weighs over 80kg, agrees that he could perform better if he was in a better physical shape.
“Wee Kiong and I played reasonably well and showed good combination on court but I know that we can go even further,” said Thien How.
“I need to improve on my physical condition. I need to lose weight so that I can move swiftly and, more importantly, can last longer on court.
“My coaches and my physical trainer (Sean Sturgess) have identified my weaknesses. Wee Kiong and I are not one of the pairs selected to spar with the team for the Olympic Games. I will have about two months to seriously focus on my physical training programme.”
It will be a great achievement for the duo if they can break into the top 30 by the end of the year.
Currently, Thien How-Wee Kiong are the fifth ranked pair in the country based on the world rankings.
The top four are Olympic Games-bound Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (6th), Vountus Indra Mawan-Mohd Lutfi Zaim Abdul Khalid (43rd), Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari (30th) and Lim Khim Wah-Goh V Shem (26th). The others below them are Teo Ee Yi-Nelson Heg Wei Keat (74), Gan Teik Chai-Ong Soon Hock (90th), Chooi Kah Ming-Ow Yao Han (101st), Chan Peng Soon-Ong Jian Guo (106th).
National doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her said he would continue to monitor the performances of Vountus-Lutfi. Although ranked higher than the newcomers Ee Yi-Nelson and Kah Ming-Yao Han, the duo were not sent for the Singapore Open.
Kim Her said he had listed the duo for the Indonesia International Challenge from July 2-7 and it would serve as a test to decide their future in the team. Vountus-Lutfi’s best achievement in the last one year was their semi-final finish at the Osaka International Challenge.
On the progress of Kien Keat-Boon Heong, Kim Her said: “The back-up shuttlers are providing good quality sparring for them. Khim Wah-V Shem will accompany them for the centralised training in Bath when the Olympic squad leave on July 12.”
Courtesy of The Star