PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun may have strengthened their claim for a spot in the Thomas Cup Finals squad after storming into the quarter-finals of the Swiss Open in Basel.
Yesterday, the duo responded to their coach Tan Bin Shen’s call to stay focused when they outplayed compatriots Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King with a clinical 21-10, 21-11 win in a second round match that lasted only 31 minutes.
They will play world No. 13 Indonesians Leo Rolly-Daniel Marthin of Indonesia, who beat another Malaysian pair Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong 16-21, 21-13, 21-12.
It was the Malaysian pair’s first appearance in a quarter-finals since finishing runners-up at the Arctic Open in Finland last October.
Since then, Wei Chong-Kai Wun had lost in the preliminary rounds of nine tournaments in a row and it would be a relief for them to break the jinx.
Bin Shen had earlier urged Wei Chong-Kai Wun and all the other Malaysian pairs to concentrate on every rally and also not to become over-confident against any opponents.
World No. 18 Wei Chong-Kai Wun almost paid the price due to lapses in concentration but recovered to win in three games against Taiwan’s Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-jen in the first round on Tuesday.
National director of coaching Rexy Mainaky said Wei Chong-Kai Wun should adopt the same attitude while playing other pairs.
“I just hope that Wei Chong-Kai Wun are consistent. They must have the same fighting attitude when playing against top pairs, not only against teammates,” said Rexy.
“Let’s wait until the Swiss Open is completed before making a decision on the Thomas Cup,” he added.
The Thomas Cup Finals will be held in Chengdu, China from April 27-May 5.
Only former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are as good as assured as the race is still open for two more slots among three pairs – Wei Chong-Kai Wun, Goh Sze Wei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and professionals Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi.
Tough luck: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani lost 21-17, 19-21, 15-21 to Supak Jomkoh-Kittinupong Kedren of Thailand.
World No. 19 Sze Fei-Izzuddin may have weaken their chances to be counted for the Finals duty after exiting the Swiss Open second round.
They went down 21-17, 19-21, 15-21 to in-form world No. 24 Supak Jomkoh-Kittinupong Kedren of Thailand in 64 minutes.
Se Fei-Izzuddin stayed in the match until the score was 15-15 in the third game but the Thai pair showed why they have been so consistent this year by taking six points on the trot to end the Malaysians’ campaign.
This is Supak-Kittinupong’s sixth tournament in a row that they have reached the quarter-finals or beyond this year.
They had also reached the quarter-finals at the All England last week which included a win over world No. 4 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark in the second round.
