Kian MengPei Jing out to bounce back from poor start

PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing are feeling refreshed as they look to bounce back from a poor start this year.

Kian Meng-Pei Jing started the year as the national No. 1 but a string of poor results, including first round defeats at the German Open and AllEngland last month, saw them dropping behind compatriots Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie.

The world No. 11, who have not competed since the AllEngland, are looking to get their season back on track at the Asia Badminton Championships (ABC) starting in Wuhan today.

“We had almost a month of training since the All-England and we have definitely prepared ourselves well for this competition,” said Pei Jing.

“But it’s not going to be easy for us to get back to winning ways as we have quite a tough draw here.

“Training and tournaments are two different stories and we are eager to see how we stand after a month of training.”

Kian Meng- Pei Jing, who are seeded seventh, certainly won’t have it easy as they take on homesters He JitingDu Yue in the first round today.

If they win, they are likely to run into South Korea’s Kim Won- ho- Shin Seung- chan with top seeds Tontowi Ahmad- Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia waiting in the quarter-finals.

Besides Kian Meng-Pei Jing, world No. 7 Soon HuatShevon will also look to put their Commonwealth Games disappointment behind them.

Soon Huat- Shevon, who were knocked out in the last eight in Gold Coast despite being the top seeds, are drawn to meet Taiwan’s Lee Yang-Hsu Ya-ching in the first round.

The other Malaysians in the fray are Lee Chong Wei (men’s singles), Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, Goh Sze Fei- Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, Chooi Kah MingLow Juan Shen (men’s doubles), Goh Jin Wei, Lee Ying Ying (women’s singles), Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean and Soong Fie Cho- Tee Jing Yi (women’s doubles).