WORLD NO 1 BARRIER
Wee Kiong-Yew Sin face Marcus-Kevin in Hong Kong
HELMI TALKAH bh@nstp.com.my
MALAYSIA’S men’s doubles Tan Wee Kiong-Ong Yew Sin face a stern test when they play Indonesia’s World No 1 pair Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open today.
Wee Kiong-Yew Sin, who only teamed up recently, did well to defeat the much experienced Hendra Setiawan-Tan Boon Heong 17-21, 22-20, 21-12 in the second round yesterday to advance to the last-eight.
Marcus Fernaldi-Kevin Sanjaya had defeated Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi 18-21, 21-13, 2114 to progress.
National doubles head coach Cheah Soon Kit said Wee KiongYew Sin’s win over Hendra and Boon Heong should boost their confidence.
“Their level of understanding is improving with each game, obviously the win will also help their confidence significantly,” said Soon Kit.
“However, there are still a few weak areas they need to improve on. I hope they will remain positive when facing the Indonesian pair tomorrow and hopefully pull out a good result.”
Goh V Shem-Teo Ee Yi, who were paired up two months ago, have faced contrasting fortunes and found it hard to find their rhythm together.
They lost in the first round to Marcus Fernaldi-Kevin Sanjaya.
“I have faith in their abilities. I hope they will develop into the main doubles pair for Malaysia alongside Wee Kiong-Yew Sin," added Soon Kit.