KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — Professional men’s doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong’s bid for a second straight title ended in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters badminton championships today.
The pair, who won the Thailand Masters last week despite turning professional just last month, went down 18-21, 22-24 to world No. 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia at the Axiata Arena, KL Sports City here today.
It will now be up to another Malaysian pair, Teo Ee Yi-Ong Yew Sin to try and stop the Indonesian giants in tomorrow’s final.
Ee Yi-Yew Sin had earlier edged teammates Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik 21-6, 18-21, 21-19 in the other semi-final.
“The Indonesian pair are definitely very strong but we will give them a tough fight. We will not give up. Both pairs have equal chance to win, so we will fight to the end,” declared Yew Sin.
Meanwhile, Wee Kiong admitted that Marcus-Kelvin had the edge over the rest in terms of speed and tactical nous.
“They play very good in fast games…because they were fast, we made a lot of mistakes. Their technique of hitting the shuttlecock was also confusing,” he said.
In men’s singles, China’s Olympic gold medallist Chen Long and South Korea’s Son Wan Ho will slug it out in the final tomorrow.
Chen packed off Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen 21-13, 21-18 in the semi-finals today while Wan Ho strolled into the title showdown after his opponent, Malaysia’s Liew Daren pulled out of the tournament with a foot injury.
“We know each other’s game very well. Our style of play is almost the same. I expect a tough fight with him,” said Chen.. — Bernama
