Semi-final inadequate to determine Kian Meng-Pei Jing’s comeback
KUALA LUMPUR: The achievement showed by national mixed doubles players Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing by advancing to the semi finals at the 2019 Malaysia Open badminton championship was a positive development.
But, the result was inadequate to be used as a yardstick to show that the national pair had ‘returned’ and were fully ready for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games qualifying campaign starting in May.
For national mixed doubles coach Chin Eei Hui, the evaluation of the pair, who were now in 38th position, must be made through several more championships.
She said what was important for the pair, who used to be in the top 10 in 2016, the reemergence of Kian Men-Pei Jing would not be evaluated through victories but how far their performances were in every championship they participated in.
“I want to see several more championships. Cannot evaluate in terms of win or lose but I want to see their performance. This is because their opponents will not easy ones in the coming championships.
‘’I don’t want to look too much at win or loss results because we cannot evaluate whether they have improved or not.
‘’It is useless if they can win by playing badly. But they can learn something if they played well and lost. That is what is important to them because they are not stable yet,’’ he said.
The national pair became the sole national representative to advance to the semi-finals of the Malaysian Open but lost to the second seeded pair from China Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping 21- 13, 21-17.
Kian Meng-Pei Jing, who were not given a target at the championship, created a shock when they beat the third seed from Japan Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino in the first round.
Their excellent rhythm continued in the second round when they trounced the Indian pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra-Reddy N.Sikki to advance to the quarterfinals to cut down Tontowi Ahmad-Winny Oktavina Kandow of Indonesia to move to the semi-finals.
The national mixed doubles pair were at one time the 10 best in the world in 2016 but experienced a slump in performance from 2017 until last month.
In the four championships they participated early this year starting with Masters Malaysia, Masters Indonesia, German Open and All England, Kian Meng-Pei Jing were showed the exit in the first round.
“For Kian Meng-Pei Jing, this is a breakthrough. Despite losing in the semifinals, it can boost their confidence. I hope they will continue to maintain and improve further because their standard is not yet at a good level.
‘’There is nothing that can be done about their problem prior to this as it involved their family. We can only continue to support, and I tell them they have to face their problem because everyone will face a problem like this,’’ she said.
Commenting on the performance of the mixed doubles as a whole, Eei Hui conceded that, to date, the professional pair of Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying remained as the national’s best mixed doubles pair based on their ranking and experiences.
But, she said the Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai pair was not less great and the gap between them was not too wide.
“Indeed, currently the Peng Soon-Liu Ying pair is still the best national pair due to their ranking and they are more experienced. But if compared with Soon Huat-Shevon, they are not too far and there is only a bit of difference.
“Peng Soon-Liu Ying are more matured in controlling the game if they are in a stiff situation,’’ she said.
On the qualifying campaign to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Eei Hui said it was a positive development for all three national pairs because they could compete in a healthy atmosphere to wrest a slot in the once-in-five-year festival.
‘’I hope all three pairs are on the right track in hunting a place for the Olympics. It is also a good environment because there are healthy competitions and it is good for a speedy improvement process,’’ she said.
The Olympic Games qualifying campaign would start in May and the first evaluation would be calculated starting at the Sudirman Cup Badminton Championship in Nanning, China.
Every country would be allowed only two pairs who were in the eight-best in the world to perform at the festival. - Bernama