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Kim Her: Kien Keat’s style of play not reason for poor display

PETALING JAYA: National doubles coach Tan Kim Her has refused to blame Koo Kien Keat’s fancy style of play for the poor display in his partnership with Tan Boon Heong during the Axiata Cup preliminary round matches.

The 27-year-old Kien Keat is known for his flamboyance on court. But all his tricks and fancy shots were all in vain as the Malaysian pair suffered a shock defeat to fourth ranked Indonesians Angga Pratama-Ryan Agung Saputra on Sunday.

Kim Her, however, will not try to change what he believes is Kien Keat’s natural style of play.
“That’s the kind of player Kien Keat is and we must accept it. We can’t force him to change his style of play to something he’s not comfortable with,” said Kim Her.

“Kien Keat’s game is not really one of the reasons why he and Boon Heong played poorly against Indonesia. You also can’t blame it on their physical condition.

“Physically, they are improving day by day and it won’t be long before they get back to their best. They just need to stay focused during matches and kill off their opponents at the right time.

“As they are targeting a medal in the Olympics, we should give them some some breathing space.
“Their attitude, after all, has been good and they have adhered to the training programme the coaches have set for them.”

Kien Keat-Boon Heong’s next assignment is to help the Malaysian Tigers overcome a first-string Indonesia Garuda in the Axiata Cup on Friday.

They are likely to face world No. 6 Bona Septano-Mohd Ahsan unless the Indonesians decide to field Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan or a scratch combination instead.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong will also compete in the India Open from April 24-29 and the Malaysian Open GP Gold from May 1-6 in Johor.



THE STAR

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