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Koo and Tan mentally weak, says Korean coach

ODENSE: Malaysia’s top pair of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong are not mentally strong enough to beat Korean shuttlers.

That’s the brutal truth, said South Korean head coach Sung Han-kook after world No. 5 Kien Keat-Boon Heong lost 21-15, 15-21, 12-21 to the third ranked Korean pair of Kwon Yi-goo-Cho Gun-woo in the first round of the Denmark Open on Wednesday.

It was the Malaysians’ first loss in three meetings against the Korean pair.
“Yi-goo is 24 years old and Gun-woo is 23. Our back-up pair did well and were superior at the front court. Our players showed more fighting spirit and that was the key,” said Han-kook.

“All our top three pairs are of almost equal standard. There is no special reason why the Koreans are able to beat this Malaysia pair so often ... it is all about practice, determination in training and adopting the right strategy.

“I have seen Koo and Tan play for some time and, I think, they are weak mentally, especially against the Koreans. The Malaysians played so well in the opening game but could not keep it up. It is in their heads.”
He may have a point as Kien Keat-Boon Heong have also found it difficult to beat South Korea’s two top pairs – Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung and Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong.

They have only won twice in 13 meetings against Yong-dae-Jae-sung and have never beaten Sung-hyun-Yeon-seong in five meetings.

The Malaysians’ latest defeat by Sung-hyun-Yeon-seong came at the quarter-finals of the World Championships in Wembley in August.

A dejected Kien Keat, however, begged to differ. The 27-year-old felt that “our game has become too predictable and we are finding it hard to quickly recover when our opponents take healthy leads”.
“We get stuck during the crucial points. It is not that we fear the Koreans or that we do not have strong minds,” he said.

“We do ... but when we are left behind, we do not have ideas how to turn the game around.
“We know our weak points and I believe that we are at a transition stage of improving our game.
“We are confident we can overcome the Korean challenge in future. We just have to change our style.”
Kien Keat-Boon Heong will compete in the France Open in Paris next week before heading home to tinker with their style of play.


THE STAR

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