Eei Hui blasts mixed doubles pairs for poor performances

NATIONAL mixed doubles coach Chin Ee Hui took all three pairs to task for their poor showing in the Celcom Axiata Malaysian Open.

Ee Hui was not impressed with what she saw on Tuesday where Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing were wiped out in the first round.

And Ee Hui was particularly disappointed with Peng Soon-Liu Ying and Kian Meng-Pei Jing.

Two-time finalists Peng Soon-Liu Ying failed to build on their US Open victory two weeks ago, going down 22-24, 9-19 to world No.10 Wang Chilin-Lee Chia-hsin of Taiwan while Kian Meng-Pei Jing were no match for China's world No.8 Zhang Nan-Li Yunhui, losing 8-21, 12-21.

“Kian Meng-Pei Jing went down rather tamely. They were playing stronger opponents, but if they had played to their true ability, they could have had a chance,” said Ee Hui.

“They were nowhere near to the level shown during training and have been inconsistent for some time. That's a worrying sign.”

As for Peng Soon-Liu Ying, Ee Hui said it could be due to them cracking under pressure for being too eager to perform on home soil.

“They entered the tournament with very high expectations and gave themselves unnecessary pressure,” said Ee Hui.

“Still, there's no excuse. Being an experienced pair, they should be able to handle the big pressure.

“There's something not right about their game. For a pair who had just won a tournament recently and played like that, that's not supposed to happen. We need to find out why and fix them.”

The three pairs resumed training at the Academy Badminton Malaysia yesterday as they aim to bounce back in the Indonesian Open from July 3-8.