Taming of the giants
V Shem-Wee Kiong turn tables on China’s world champions
SHUTTLERS Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong redeemed their battered pride when they came out big on home ground by sending third seeds and reigning world champions Liu Cheng-Zhang Nan of China packing in the Celcom Axiata Malaysian Open.
The duo were without doubt at their best as they took control of the game from the start and defeated the Chinese pair convincingly with a sensational 21-14, 21-23, 21-17 win to the delight of the home fans.
It was their fourth win over the world No. 3 in seven meetings and a sweet revenge after losing in their last encounter at the Indonesian Masters in January.
The world No. 16 V Shem-Wee Kiong had been downcast after their failure to win points for Malaysia in crucial ties against Denmark (group stage) and Indonesia (quarter-finals) at last month’s Thomas Cup Finals in Bangkok, Thailand.
Yesterday, they were jumping for joy after clearing the early rounds of the home tournament for the first time.
They lost in the first round to China’s Chai Biao-Hong Wei in 2015 and lost in the second round to South Korea’s Lee Yong-dae-Yoo Yeon-seong in 2016.
Last year’s edition in Kuching was probably the most embarrassing after a loss to qualifiers Or Chin Chung-Tang Chun Man of Hong Kong in the first round.
Wee Kiong was wearing a huge smile.
“We should have won it in two games, but I made mistakes in the last three shots in the second game. I’ve to be careful. We want to win it this time, so this must change," said Wee Kiong.
The two will have another handful in the quarter-finals as they take on sixth seeds Takeshi KamuraKeigo Sonoda of Japan.
The Japanese got the better of them when they last played each other at the Asia Badminton Championships (ABC) in April, dismantling them in two games 18-21, 17-21.
“We have faced them many times, we had several wins (3) and lost a few times too (5). Hopefully, we can perform better playing at home.”
V Shem-Wee Kiong are Malaysia's sole hope in the chase for the Malaysian Open title after Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi lost 15-21, 21-17, 16-21 to Japan’s Hiroyuki Endo-Yuta Watanabe 15-21, 21-17, 16-21.
It was also the end of the road for Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik when they went down fighting 18-21, 28-30 to world No. 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia.