Goh-Tan in need of recipe for success against Indonesians

PETALING JAYA: Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong are desperately in need of a winning formula against their Indonesian rivals if they are to excel on the World Tour and other major tournaments.

This comes after their dismal record against Indonesian pairs continued on Friday. They were shown the exit in the quarter-finals of the China Open by world No. 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in Changzhou.

V Shem-Wee Kiong were soundly beaten 15-21, 17-21 in just 34 minutes which marked their second consecutive defeat of the season and fifth in all meetings against MarcusKevin.

The Rio Olympics silver medallists have now been shown the exit eight times by their Indonesian counterparts in 16 tournaments this year.

They had lost twice to reigning world champions Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan in the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open in April and semi-finals of the New Zealand Open in May.

World No. 7 Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto, on the other hand, have accounted for the Malaysians’ defeats in the last eight of the All-England in March and the last 16 of the World Championships in Basel, Switzerland last month.

V Shem-Wee Kiong have also fallen to lower-ranked Indonesians.

At the Indian Open in March, they went down to Ricky Karandasuwardi-Angga Pratama in the first round while Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pangkaryanira-Ade Yusuf Santoso also sent them packing in the opening round of the Japan Open in July.

“I have to admit we’re struggling against them at the moment but we’ve yet to find the solution,” said V Shem.

“I believe we can overcome this as long as we continue to work harder and by doing an in-depth analysis to find out their weaknesses.”

V Shem-Wee Kiong’s defeat in Changzhou marked the end of Malaysia’s campaign in the first-tier World Tour event, which carries a lucrative US$1mil (RM4.2mil) purse.

Men’s doubles Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi and mixed doubles Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie were the other Malaysian quarter-finalists of the tournament.

V Shem-Wee Kiong will now switch their focus to the Korean Open where they take on Yew Sin-Ee Yi in the opening hurdle.