PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles pair Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei are glad that they have finally earned their spot in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.
Although the world No. 14 pair had struggled for form this year, they just managed to seal their Rio ticket when the qualification period ended on April 30.
Once that was done, it was as if they finally managed to get the proverbial monkey off their backs as they went on to deliver one their best performances by reaching the semi-finals of the Indonesian Open earlier this month.
They hope to keep the momentum going when they compete in the Taiwan Open, which starts in Taipei from June 28-July 3.
“We were under a lot of pressure the last few months ... it certainly got to us and affected our game,” said Khe Wei.
“But since checking into the Olympics, the pressure has been definitely a lot less. We could take a more relaxed approach at tournaments ... and we played pretty well in Indonesia.
“We’re not hoping for too much in Taiwan ... we just want to keep the momentum going and play with the same mind set that we had during the Indonesian Open.”
The 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallists are seeded fourth in Taiwan and have received a first-round bye.
They will meet either Chaladchalam Chayanit-Phataimas Muenwong of Thailand or homesters Hsieh Pei-chen-Wu Ti-jung in the second round.
The other Malaysian women’s pair in the fray are youngsters Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean. The world No. 87 will face Taiwan’s Hsu Ya-ching-Pai Yu-po in the first round.
In men’s singles, the Malaysian challenge will be led by world No. 32 Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin.
Iskandar is the 13th seed and will meet Indonesia’s Firman Abdul Kholik in the first round.
The other men’s singles shuttlers in the tournament are Goh Soon Huat, Chong Wei Feng, Liew Daren, Tan Chun Seang, Chiang Jiann Shiarng, Goh Giap Chin and Mohd Arif Abdul Latif.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
