Tough start for duo

FAILURE to win the Malaysia Open will add another unwanted statistic to their waning career but Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong do not seem to be in a position to stop that.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong will complete three years without a super series title, the worst run by a top five pair since the circuit was introduced in 2007, if they fail on Jan 15-20 but they face twin Korean threats in the shape of Ko Sung Hyun-Lee Yong Dae and Kim Ki Jung-Kim Sa Rang.
Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark and Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng will take a break after the Korea Open on Jan 8-13 where Kien Keat-Boon Heong, the World No 2, will also compete but the Malaysians current form doesn't inspire confidence.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong, whose last super series title was the 2010 Malaysia Open, are the top seeds in the event but their record against the Koreans is not convincing and local fans can only depend on men's singles Lee Chong Wei to the save the day again.
Sung Hyun-Yong Dae, who only paired off in September, have already won the French Open and also beat Kien Keat-Boon Heong in the last eight in Paris while Ki Jung-Sa Rang have beaten the Malaysians in their two meetings.
There could also be an early test in the form of the unseeded Muhammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong face the possibility of playing Ki Jung-Sa Rang or China's Hong Wei-Shen Ye in the quarter-finals and could meet either Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng or Sung Hyun-Yong Dae in the semi-finals of the Korea Open.
The BA of Malaysia (BAM) had initially given Kien Keat-Boon Heong until the World Championships in Guangzhou in August to save their career but this should be reviewed should the pair fail in the Korea and Malaysia Opens.
Reaching the finals of the Japan, Denmark and Hong Kong Opens, which they eventually lost, cannot be deemed as success as they only played second stringers in the earlier rounds.

Koo Kien Keat (right) and Tan Boon Heong

Read more: Tough start for duo - Badminton - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/badminton/tough-start-for-duo-1.188919#ixzz2FasJupvP

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