PETALING JAYA: Healthy rivalry and good sparring are probably the reasons behind the recent good show of the professional players under the care of coach Rosman Razak.
The entry of Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani has revived the form of Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi in the men’s doubles.
The vibe is also the same in the mixed doubles as Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing are trying to raise their game in every tournament.
And that has put a huge smile on Rosman’s face, especially after a good showing by the pros in the China Open last month.
He is now hoping for another good showing in the back-to-back Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland, starting on Tuesday and the Denmark Open in Odense from Oct 15-20.
“I’m happy that Yew Sin-Ee Yi did well at the China Open. The arrival of Sze Fei-Izzuddin has really improved the quality of sparring,” said Rosman, who prefers to be focused on the task at hand as the pro coach.
In the China Open, Sze Fei-Izzuddin went all the way to win the title while Yew Sin-Ee Yi achieved their best result by reaching the semis. In the mixed doubles, Soon Huat-Shevon came so close to making it a sensational double for Malaysia before losing in the final in China.
“Ee Yi has been struggling with a leg injury from the start of this year and had to be out for about three months. The recovery has been good and I’m glad to see him making a good comeback,” he said.
“It’s also good to have two competitive mixed pairs. They have been really pushing and bringing out the best in each other.
“All these pairs have experienced their ups and downs, and hopefully, they will be able to be more stable and maintain their good form in Europe next. The preparation has been good,” added Rosman before leaving for Finland yesterday.
In the Arctic Open, Danish pairs stand in the way of Yew Sin-Ee Yi and Sze Fei-Izzuddin.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi have been drawn to play against Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard while fifth seeds Sze Fei-Izzuddin will face the unseeded Rasmus Kajer-Frederik Sogaard.
The other men’s doubles in the fray are Yap Roy King-Junaidi Arif, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and former world champions and two-time Olympic bronze medal winners Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who have a tricky opener against Chen Boyang-Liu Yi of China.
In the mixed doubles, Soon Huat-Shevon will face qualifiers in the opening match while Kian Meng-Pei Jing have to beat Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai to clear their first round.
At the last edition, Yew Sin-Ee Yi were the top performers among all the doubles, having reached the quarter-finals.
