STOPPING THE ROT

Coach has found the cause of duo’s decline

NATIONAL mixed doubles coach Chin Eei Hui believes she has found the cause of Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing’s recent dip in form, and has vowed to stop the rot.

Yesterday, the Malaysian No 1 pair suffered their third consecutive defeat at the BWF World Super Series Finals in Dubai, going down 21-13, 21-16 to English pair Chris AdcockGabrielle Adcock, in their final Group B tie.

Kian Meng-Pei Jing finished bottom of their group after losing to China’s Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping and Indonesia’s Tontowi Ahmad--Liliyana Natsir in earlier matches.

Eei Hui said she has not been pleased with the performance of the World No 11 pair but is feeling a bit relieved now after figuring out the cause for their sudden drop in form.

“They have not lived up to expectations and have been very poor. They do not trust each other enough in court.

“However, I now have a clear picture of the problem they are facing,” said Eei Hui when contacted.

When asked further about the problem faced by the Malaysian pair, Eei Hui chose not to elaborate.

“I am sorry that I cannot comment further on this issue. I will need to discuss with the players first before revealing anything to the media,” she said.

Kian Meng, making his debut in the World Super Series Finals, believes that apart from their first match against Yilyu-Dongping, Pei Jing and he did reasonably well in the remaining two.

“We managed to translate our training onto our on-court action. We may have lost, but we did okay in the last two matches,” added Kian Meng.

Meanwhile, Lee Chong Wei topped Group A despite losing to South Korea’s So Wan Ho 21-13, 20-22, 15-21 in the Super Series Finals in Dubai yesterday.