Kim Her challenges doubles players to emulate Liew’s unexpected success

Something to prove: Malaysia’s Hoon Thien How (left) and Tan Wee Kiong are going for broke at the China Open in Shanghai on Nov 13-18.

Liew Daren’s unexpected men’s singles triumph in the French Open should serve as motivation for the second echelon of shuttlers in the men’s doubles department to go for broke at the China Open in Shanghai on Nov 13-18.
National doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her has challenged Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong and Chan Peng Soon-Lim Khim Wah to defy the odds in the penultimate leg of the Super Series Tour.
Kim Her admitted yesterday that the draw for the men’s doubles, which was released by the Bad­minton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday, was challenging but hoped that his men will pull off the unexpected.
“No one expected Daren to win but he did and it should serve as a motivation for others in the men’s doubles department. They must have self-belief,” said Kim Her.
“We are also looking for a strong second pair to support Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and the China Open is a good platform for our second stringers to prove their worth.
“The men’s doubles event has grown to be quite interesting after the London Olympic Games as many countries have tweaked with their original pairings. The new partnerships are spicing up the competition and our boys should not be left behind.”
World No. 20 Thien How-Wee Kiong have been handed a perfect opportunity to redeem themselves in China after being drawn in the same quarter as Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa of Japan, Hong Wei-Shen Ye of China and reigning Denmark Open champions Shin Baek-cheol-Yoo Yeon-seong of South Korea.
Their early test will probably be against Hiroyuki-Kenichi, whom they have lost twice to before this year – at the Denmark Open and China Masters, although their second meeting in Denmark was a close affair.
Peng Soon-Khim Wah, who are playing in their first Super Series as a pair after a three-year lapse, have been lumped with second seeds Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China and South Koreans Kim Ki-jung-Kim Sa-rang.
So, it will be interesting to find out if they can hit it off straightaway.
The duo won the 2009 Thailand Open before being split up.
All eyes will also be on Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who are still searching for their first Super Series title since winning the Malaysian Open in January 2010.
They came close to nicking it at the Japan Open and Denmark Open in the last two months.
Despite the narrow defeats, the duo showed positive attitude on court and strong determination to get their act right after struggling for the last two years.
In the China Open, world No. 5 Kien Keat-Boon Heong are in the top half of the draw with top seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark, Bodin Isara-Maneepong Jongjit of Thailand and Indonesians Markis Kido-Alven Yulianto and Hendra Setiawan-Mohd Ahsan.
In the men’s singles, Daren will have to raise his game even higher as he has been drawn in the same half as second seed Chen Jin of China, Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark and Du Pengyu of China.
Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng has an even more daunting task as the unseeded player is in the top half with top seed Chen Long of China, Simon Santoso of Indonesia and Sho Sasaki of Japan. The Malaysian faces Sasaki in the opening round.
Courtesy of The Star