Tuesday, 18 August 2009
K.M. Boopathy
IT is hard to believe Malaysia, given the talents at its disposal, has failed to reach the men's doubles final of the World Championships since 1997, and if the performances of the top two national pairs in the semi-finals in Hyderabad are anything to go by, it is easy to understand why.
Winning a major title needs plenty of character and resilience and this is where the Koreans, Indonesians and Chinese have a huge advantage. While Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Zakry Latif-Fairuzizuan Tazari are immensely talented, they are sadly lacking in that department.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong have remained an enigma as this is the pair who took the world by storm in 2007 and made their top three rivals -- Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia, Jung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae of South Korea and Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China -- eat humble pie for several months before their careers took a dive.
Markis-Hendra are now Olympic and world champions, Cai Yun-Haifeng have added an Olympic silver medal to the world title they had already won and Jae Sung-Yong Dae have featured in several World Championships finals.
Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong crumble cave in crunch situations and don’t have the grit to fight back when they are trailing.
Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong crumble cave in crunch situations and don’t have the grit to fight back when they are trailin
Determination and confidence have been the key elements behind the success of these three pairs in close battles while Kien Keat-Boon Heong crumble in crunch situations and don't have the same grit to fight back when they are trailing.
Their coach Rosman Razak aptly put it when he said that "having it (determination and grit) are special traits to succeed in difficult circumstances which cannot be taught and they have to be cultivated by the players themselves."
Kien Keat-Boon Heong must sharpen their killer instincts and at the same time remain cool to battle on until the last point is won (or lost) and should never settle for just average success.
Yong Dae is a special talent and he has the ability to conjure up effective combinations with any player and is already an Olympic winner with Lee Hyo Jung in the mixed doubles.
Yong Dae and Jae Sung are the favourites for the 2012 London Olympics doubles title and they will only get stronger over the next three years.
Kien Keat, 24 and Boon Heong, 22, have already wasted two golden years of their careers and if they are to have a shot at titles over the coming two World Championships (2010 and 2011) and the 2012 Olympics, they should start believing in themselves more and inculcate the ability to stare down their opponents in a do-or-die situation.
Both players also have the tendency to treat the Olympics and the World Championships like any other event and this must stop although it is meant to reduce the pressure.
There is no way the pair can rise to the occasions if they think a tournament is not important and these are the minor details Kien Keat-Boon Heong should change in order to become champions.
Zakry-Fairuz must also use the surprise bronze they won in Hyderabad as a launch pad and become a more consistent pair. If they can perform well, it will also boost the confidence of Kien Keat-Boon Heong as it will be easier for them to attack the major events.
Also, it is unwise to just concentrate on these two pairs and head coach Rexy Mainaky must start giving more opportunities to the back-up pairs under the guidance of Pang Cheh Chang.
There have been too many experiments throughout the year and it has to stop as the coaches should know by now which combination can click.
The settled pairs should instead start focusing on qualifying for next year's World Championships which end on April 30, 2010.
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