Big trouble in Dubai
Mixed pair Kian Meng-Pei Jing given tough draw in Superseries Finals
KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Kian MengLai Pei Jing could not have asked for a worst possible debut in the World Superseries Finals which starts in Dubai tomorrow.
The world No. 11 have been drawn in Group B also known as the “Group of Death” together with world No. 4 Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping of China, Olympic champions Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia and world No. 5 Chris Adcock-Gabrielle Adcock of England at the Hamdan Sports Complex in United Arab Emirates.
World No. 1 Zheng Siwei-Chen Qingchen of China will take on Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet, Indonesia’s Praveen Jordan-Debby Susanto and Japan’s Kenta Kazuno-Ayane Kurihara in Group A.
The pair had sneaked into the Finals as one of the eight qualifiers.
The 23-year-old Kian Meng admitted that the odds are against them.
“It’s definitely tough but I’m not ruling out anything.
“There is a chance albeit a slim one,” he said.
“But honestly, Pei Jing and I don’t want to be too worried about our opponents. We’ll go all out in every match.”
They have lost to Yilyu-Dongping in the second round of the World Championships in Glasgow this year. They also went down to the English pair at the Birburger Open in Germany last year.
Kian Meng-Pei Jing however, have had mixed fortunes against Tontowi-Liliyana in three meeting this year. They lost to them at the Indonesian Open and French Open but pulled off a shock win in the first round of the Australian Open.
“Tontowi-Liliyana and world No. 1 Siwei-Qingchen are the favourites. They’ve been the most consistent pairs this year,” he said.
“Our goal is simple – to bring out all that we’ve learnt in training. Our training has been different now and hopefully, we’ll be able to put up a good show.”
The pair are hoping that a good showing would put them in good stead as they are eyeing to represent Malaysia at the Commonwealth Games (Gold Coast, Australia in April) and the Asian Games (Jakarta, Indonesia in August).
Kian Meng-Pei Jing will have to finish in the top two in Group B to advance to the semi-finals.
In the men’s singles, Lee Chong Wei has been drawn in Group A with South Korea’s Son Wan-ho, Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long and China’s Chen Long.