COPENHAGEN: Nothing much was expected from Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong at the World Championships.
And on Wednesday, the former national No. 1 pair came back from 6-12 down in the second game to beat China youngsters Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen 21-14, 21-18 to reach the third round of their sixth world meet outing at the Bellarup Super Arena.
The Malaysians will take on Taiwan’s Lee Sheng-mu-Tsai Chia-hsin for a place in the quarter-finals.
The duo last played together in the Malaysian Open in January before their partnership was split up after Kien Keat quit the national team.
Boon Heong was just happy to be combining forces with Kien Keat once again – after so long.
“We hardly trained together but were able to make this partnership work. It was good to play with Kien Keat – and win – once again,” said Boon Heong.
The 29-year-old Kien Keat, who is currently a player-cum-coach with professional club Granular in Thailand, said: “Boon Heong and I were fresh in the first game and were able to play quick and fast. I ran out of stamina a little in the second but Boon Heong did well to support me.
“We were down but we kept encouraging one another to finish off the match in straight game. Our combination – and friendship – is still the same. I guess that was evident on the court today ... who knows, I might just make a comeback!”
On Thursday’s match, he said: “We are here without any pressure. It is good to enjoy the game ... hopefully, that will take us far.”
In the men’s singles, seeded players like Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark (third), Hu Yun of Hong Kong (ninth), Shon Wan-ho of South Korea (seventh) and China’s Wang Zhengming (sixth) marched into the third round.
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