Drought continues for V Shem-Wee Kiong
NATIONAL men’s doubles Goh V ShemTan Wee Kiong failed to end a two-year drought when they lost in the men’s doubles final of the Malaysia Masters yesterday.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallists were beaten on home turf by Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto 21-14, 22-24, 13-21 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
Wee Kiong said the unforced errors committed by both of them, especially in the second game, disrupted their match rhythm. And that gave their opponents the renewed confidence to get back into the match.
“Overall, we did play well today but really, we made too many unforced errors in the second game. When our opponents managed to collect point after point, it gave them the confidence they needed to get back into the match and take the second game,” said Wee Kiong.
“In the third game, we fought to change our strategy and we were a bit slow in reading their movements.
“It was a very tough match. We will focus on addressing our weaknesses to face the next tournament.”
With the defeat, V Shem-Wee Kiong’s barren run continues since their last triumph at the 2016 Dubai Super Series Finals.
However, not all is sad and dour as the pair, who were just reunited at the end of last year, did manage to reach the semifinals of the Thailand Masters earlier this month and the final of the Malaysia Masters. Prior to this, both players were dismantled as a pair for four months but were reunited following the new championship format implemented by the Badminton World Federation, and as preparation for qualifying for this year’s Thomas Cup.
V Shem-Wee Kiong will now focus on the Indonesia Masters which begins tomorrow. They will take on Danish pair, Mathias Christiansen-David Daugaard in the first round.
“We hope to keep the momentum going. We will continue to work hard to further improve on our pairing. What’s important to note is that after two tournaments, since our return as a pair, we have so far enjoyed a good start to our reunion,” said Wee Kiong. Helmi Talkah and Fabian Peter