PETALING JAYA: Bring it home, boys.
Former doubles shuttler Tan Boon Heong has pleaded for the men’s doubles players to end a long wait for the All-England title as the ‘hot’ competition starts today in Birmingham without even one pair being labelled as the favourites.
Boon Heong and his partner Koo Kien Keat were the last Malaysian winners when they destroyed the favourites Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun of China in the final at the 2007 edition.
They were the newbies but they defied the odds to end the country’s 25-year wait, as the pair who won before them were the Sidek brothers – Jalani and Razif in 1982.
Boon Heong said the time seemed right as Malaysia would be represented by six pairs but he knows winning it would not be easy as it depended on the draw as well.
“Kien Keat and I were one of the newer pairs in that edition. We knew it was a big tournament and everyone wanted us to win but didn’t know what was the big hype behind it,” said Boon Heong.
“Only after winning, we realised how important it was… we have ended a 25-year wait.
“There were many top players but we were not overawed by any one of them. We kept our focus in every match.
“The scenario is different this year as the race is quite wide open. Many countries are trying out different pairs in early preparation for the next Olympic Games (in Los Angeles in 2028).
“This year, we have the quantity and quality and with that, a bigger chance. It’s time that we take back the crown we last won (18 years ago),” said Boon Heong.
Malaysia will be represented by world No. 2 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (5), Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (11), Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King (18), Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong (26) and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (30).
On the others in the field, Boon Heong said Denmark, China, Indonesia, South Korea, and India have good pairs.
“But most of them are still unstable just yet, but if they strike form, they can go all the way to win it. It’s tough to predict but it certainly makes this year’s All-England very interesting,” added Boon Heong.
Denmark will be banking on world No. 1 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen; China will be counting on their world No. 3 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang, He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu; while India and England can depend on Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and Ben Lane-Sean Vendy respectively to spice it up.
South Korea will enter as one of the sides to watch out for as their scratch pairs Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae, Kim Gi-jung-Kim Sa-rang, and Kang Min-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju are a tricky lot.
Indonesia may not have had the results that they would have wanted in recent times but one can never underestimate their players such as the fourth seeds Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto, Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin, Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana as they have the quality and fighting spirits.
Probably, Japan, who used to be a threat, will be the weakest among the lot as they only have Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura to keep their flag flying high.
While the stage is set for thrills and spills on the court, the questions remains – will the Malaysians bring back home the coveted trophy?
