KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) — Malaysia's top men's doubles pair Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong displayed a world class performance to down compatriots Tan Bin Shen/Ong Soon Hock to advance to the second round of the Japan Open at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium Wednesday.
Kien Keat/Boon Heong, who lost in the first set, bounced back in the second to seal the match at 18-21, 21-13, 21-14. Kien Keat/Boon Heong, the world No. 2 pair and tournament second seed, will meet World No. 13th pair Indonesians Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto Chandra in the second round tomorrow, according to the International Badminton Federation (IBF) website.
World championship semi-finalist and world's 6th seed Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah also advanced to the next round, beating Taiwan's unseeded pair Fang Chieh Min/Lee Sheng Mu 21-11, 14-21, 21-11 in a hard-fought rubber set that took more than 30 minutes.
The veteran pair is expected to square off with Singapore's Hendri Kurniawan Saputra/Hendra Wijaya tomorrow.
Three other Malaysian pairs — Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif/Mohd Fairuzizuan, Chan Chong Ming/Hoon Thien How and Gan Teik Chai/Lin Woon Fui — had crashed out of the tournament.
In the women's event, all Malaysian pairs are out of contention in the tournament. National top pair and tournament's 8th seed Wong Pei Tty/Chin Eei Hui went down to Japanese pair Tomomi Matsuda/Aki Akao 17-21, 21-15, 19-21.
Pei Tty/Eei Hui, who qualified to the quarter-finals of the world championship held in Malaysia last month, stretched the game to more than an hour before going down.
The other two women's pair — Fong Chew Yen/Mooi Hing Yau and Lim Pek Siah/Haw Chiou Hwee — crashed out in the first round of the tournament.
