The way we were

Tan-mak show their hunger is still intact after reunion

PETALING JAYA: National doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her believes in giving his players a second chance.

And that has certainly paid off for Tan Wee Kiong and Mak Hee Chun, who are paired up again after being split up last year.

In their second tournament since resuming their partnership, they reached the final of the Selangor Open last week.

Kim Her hopes the duo will continue to prove themselves by doing well in the All-england qualifying tournament in Birmingham tomorrow.

The promising Wee Kiong-hee Chun were once ranked 21st in the world before a strain in their partnership, which started at the 2010 Asian Games, saw them going separate ways last year.

However, Kim Her felt the youngsters could still make it to the top if they put their differences aside and trust each other on court. That is why he decided to throw a lifeline to them.

“They now trust each other. They played quite well at the Selangor Open and showed the same hunger that I have seen in the past.

“They were also quite open and it’s good to note that they are driven by one goal – to revive their careers,” said Kim Her.

“I’m still in the process of experimenting with the pairs and I plan to carry out this exercise until August.

“But the fine development of Wee Kiong-hee Chun augurs well for them.”

Kim Her has not set any targets for the duo but hopes to see them make the main draw.

“They have done well in a local tournament (Selangor Open). It will be more challenging on the international stage but I hope they will rise to the occasion,” said Kim Her.

Wee Kiong-hee Chun will take on Denmark’s Rasmus Bonde-Anders Kristiansen in the first round, and if they win they may play KLRC’S Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari for a place in the main draw. The other Malaysian pair in the qualifying tournament are Goh V Shem-teo Kok Siang and Gan Teik Chai-tan Bin Shen.

Youngsters V Shem and Kok Siang are also making a comeback as a pair after a year. Last year, V Shem had to stop his partnership with Kok Siang due to the latter’s knee injury.

They face a tough task against South Koreans Cho Gun-wooShin Baek-cheol in the first round of the qualifiers.

Meanwhile, the country’s top pair and 2007 All-england winners Koo Kien Keat-tan Boon Heong will open their campaign in the main draw against Japan’s dangermen Naoki KawamaeShoji Sato on Wednesday.