Back-up shuttlers come good again with win in Iran

KUALA LUMPUR: National doubles back-up coach Tan Kim Her’s charges got it right again at international level.

On Sunday, Tai An Khang-Hong Yew Kheng lifted the men’s doubles title at the Iran International Challenge in Teheran after beating Delos Santos Aries-Alvin Morada of the Philippines 21-12, 18-21, 21-16 in the final.

It was the third success recorded by Kim Her’s squad in less than a year.

Last year, Low Juan Shen-Ong Yew Sin underlined their superiority by winning the Vietnam International Series in October and the Bangladesh Open International Challenge in Dhaka in December.

Kim Her, who took charge of the back-up squad in June last year, was happy to see his players’ progress.

“It is a small tournament, but a win gives these players a lot of confidence. They are my second pair to win an international title. Hopefully, they will build on from here,” said Kim from Teheran.

Malaysia, however, failed to make it a double joy as Joyce Choong Wai Chi-Yap Cheng Wen went down 19-21, 18-21 to Ozge Bayrak-Neslihan Yigit of Turkey in the women’s doubles final.

In the women’s singles event, Sonia Cheah’s hopes of making a comeback did not materialise. She went down 15-21, 22-24 to eventual champion Linda Zetchiri of Bulgaria in the quarter-finals. It was Sonia’s first competition since undergoing an Achilles tendon surgery in August, 2013.