V SHEM-WEE KIONG TO O REMAIN A PAIR DESPITE POOR OUTING S
Underperforming V ShemWee Kiong will remain as a pair
KUALA LUMPUR: Underperforming men’s doubles shuttlers Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong will remain as a pair.
Head coach Paulus Firman has no plans to split the Rio Olympic silver medallists although the duo’s form continues to dip following their dismal outings at the Japan and China Opens in the last two weeks.
World No. 11 V Shem-Wee Kiong suffered a first-round exit in Tokyo and could only reach the last 16 a week later in Changzhou.
The fans’ patience is running thin as the pair have also failed to defend their Commonwealth Games gold medal in Gold Coast in April and flopped in their first doubles role at the Thomas Cup Finals in Bangkok a month later.
V Shem-Wee Kiong also struggled to impress at the World Championships in Nanjing, China, and the Indonesian Asian Games, managing only last-16 and quarter-final spots respectively.
But Paulus sees no reason to press the panic button yet and stressed that V Shem-Wee Kiong are still the country’s best pair at the moment.
Paulus, who assumed the head coach role only in July, has pleaded for more time to get things right.
“Their results have not been satisfactory and we have to admit and accept that we’re not good enough,” said Paulus, who rejoined the Badminton Association of Malaysia in April.
“We (the coaches) are also responsible for their poor run.
“But splitting them (V Shem-Wee Kiong) has never crossed my mind. They’re still the top pair in the country.
“They’re going through a difficult time at the moment, but I still have faith in them.
“The solution is to help them rather than break them. We’re going to fix this together.”
Paulus admitted that he was puzzled by V Shem-Wee Kiong’s inability to wrap up the match during crucial stages. But he has vowed to help his charges turn things around.
“The only problem with them is that they can’t seem to solve their woes in finishing off the match in the crucial stages when it’s closely fought,” explained Paulus.
“Obviously, they didn’t lose badly. Most of their defeats were by very slim margins.
“Surely they are not inferior to rivals in terms of technique or skills. They have the quality to take on any top pair in the world, it’s just the matter of closing out matches.
“We’re going to do whatever we can to help them solve this,” he said.