Feels like the first time

PETALING JAYA: National doubles shuttler Tan Wee Kiong will be competing in his second World Championships in Guangzhou, China, next month but he can’t help feeling like it’s his first.
 
The 24-year-old Wee Kiong competed in the 2007 edition here in mixed doubles alongside Woon Khe Wei.

Wee Kiong-Khe Wei were Asian Junior champions that year but failed to make any headway in the world meet, losing in the second round – and their combination never took off.

Now, Wee Kiong is looking forward to featuring in the men’s doubles with Hoon Thien How at the world meet, which will be held on Aug 5-11.

“This will be a fresh experience because the last time I played in 2007 it was in the mixed doubles. This will be a whole new experience for me,” said Wee Kiong. 

“Thien How and I have no targets for the world meet. We’ve set so many targets this year – from winning a title to making the final of Super Series events – only to end up disappointing ourselves. 

“We’ve not performed well this year. It’s been mostly quarter-finals at best and that’s nothing to shout about. 

“Hopefully, we’ll make our breakthrough in Guangzhou.

“The only problem is that being world No. 10, our level is still quite far behind the pairs from South Korea, China and Indonesia ... we really need to work harder to give them a good fight.”
 
The pair suffered a dismal outing in last month’s Indonesian Open, losing in the first round to the lower-ranked Indonesian combination of Andrei Adistia-Gideon Markus Fernaldi. 

It resulted in them slipping from a career high No. 7 in the world to No. 10.

This could prove costly as Wee Kiong-Thien How will be unseeded in the world meet and face a potential first-round clash against the likes of Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan, South Korea’s Ko Sung-hyun-Lee Yong-dae and China’s Liu Xiaolong-Qiu Zihan and Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng. 

The other national men’s pairs heading for the world meet are world No. 2 Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah and the independent duo of Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari.