Malaysian coach, Tan Kim Her, did not see Ahsan/Hendra as a future potential threat….
The success of top men pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong in the Denmark Open will depend very much on whether they can coup with handful of new pairings they will be up against in Odense.
Hosts Denmark, South Korea, Indonesia and China have split some of their top pairs and are all trying out new combinations but unfortunately for Kien Keat-Boon Heong, they will be facing one of the most dangerous new pairings in the form of Lee Yong-dae-Ko Sung-hyun of South Korea in the opening round.
The pair are making their international debut. Yong-dae and Chung Jae-sung won the bronze at the August London Olympics after which the latter decided to retire leaving Yong-dae to pair up with Sung-hyun in Denmark.
The other new partnerships hoping to make a mark are South Korea’s Shin Baek-cheol-Yoo Yeon-seong; Indonesia’s Mohd Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan and Bona Septano-Afiat Yuris Wirawan; China’s Zhang Nan-Chai Biao. Denmark will be blooding their new pairs Rasmus Bonde-Mads Conrad-Petersen and Jonas Rasmussen-Joachim Fischer Nielsen.
National doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her expects a major shift in the pecking order starting with the Denmark Open.
‘We did not split our top pair but many have done so. This will surely see some changes in the ranking order by the end of this year,” said Kim Her. “I think, Yong-dae-Sung-hyun are set to grow into a formidable pair but it will not happen immediately. They may take some time to adapt.
“I reckon the match against Koo-Tan in the first round of the Denmark Open will be equally contested. After all, this is Yong-dae-Sung-hyun’s first match as a pair.
“For now, I see South Korea’s two new combinations and China’s Zhang Nan-Chai Biao as the ones with immense potential to develop into strong pairings.
“Indonesia’s former world and Olympic champion Hendra has teamed up with Ahsan but I do not see this partnership going far. Age is catching up on Hendra and his form has dropped.” (www.bam.org.my)
What do you think guys?