Listen to Daddy Koo-l
KOO Kien Keat, one of Malaysian badminton’s coolest icons and now a father of two, has urged the young doubles players to perform with more character and charisma at the Thomas Cup next month.
PETALING JAYA: Former men’s doubles star Koo Kien Keat has thrown down the gauntlet to youngsters in the national badminton team, urging them to play with charisma and character.
He says the current batch of men’s doubles shuttlers are plain and ordinary.
Unless these players turn their game into something outstanding, Malaysia can expect a tame affair at the Thomas Cup Finals in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct 3-11.
Malaysia have named Aaron ChiaSoh Wooi Yik, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin and independent shuttlers Teo Ee Yi-Ong Yew Sin for the Finals.
The 23-year-old Aaron, Wooi Yik (22), Sze Fei (23) and Izzuddin (22) are coached by Indonesian Flandi Limpele.
“The role of coaches is important but the players have bigger responsibilities to chart their own career path. Unfortunately, many of our players are followers,” said Kien Keat, who will turn 35 on Sept 18.
“I don’t see something special in our younger players. They are mere copycats of the style of others, some try to adopt the Indonesian style.
“In order to be a special player, a champion ... they must have their own charisma, character and attitude, they should be outstanding and be their own icon.”
While he wishes to see Malaysian players establish themselves as reputable stars, Kien Keat hopes the youngsters would not be too hard on themselves.
“I was a player and I understand the challenges. Whatever it is, be who you want to be, but find your own niche and style. Do not conform to the pressure from outside,” he said.
“I hope they will be motivated to outshine others.”
Kien Keat was only 19 when he made heads turn with his cool, confident and outstanding performance during his first major event – the 2004 Thomas Cup Finals in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Together with Chew Choon Eng, they nearly pulled off an upset over Indonesia’s Eng Hian-Flandi but lost the tie narrowly as Malaysia went down 1-3 in the quarter-finals.
That was the start for the flamboyant Kien Keat as he went on to be fearless and ambitious en route to winning the Asian Games (2006), AllEngland (2007) and many Open titles with Tan Boon Heong.
The duo also came close to winning the world title before going down to Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun of China in the final in 2010 Paris.
“I was called arrogant because of my style of play but I enjoyed every moment that I played as Koo Kien Keat. It gave me the thrills to pull off fancy shots that worked,” said Kien Keat.
“I loved the double motion moves, deceptive shots. I always challenged myself to anticipate the opponents’ tricks and was bent on showing who was faster.
“It was all about mind games to me, trying to intimidate and outfox the opponents, some saw it as arrogance but it was fine with me.”
Kien Keat left the national team in 2014 and tried to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics as a professional but failed to make the cut. He stopped playing competitively and became the Badminton Asia development coach while doing some online business.
Now, he has set up his own private coaching centre – KK Koo badminton studio in Kota Damansara and was recently named as the ambassador for Young (formerly known as Yang Yang), a local equipment brand.
“I hope to inspire the young generation of badminton players as the Young ambassador by promoting self confidence and stylish clothing,” said Kien Keat, the father of two children Nayson (six) and Kyra (three).