Malaysian badminton duo Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong effectively ended their title drought after securing the US Open title, yesterday.
Both men went up against Russia’s Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov in the men’s doubles category and they came off with a comfortable 21-14, 21-17 win in just 30 minutes.
This is their first international achievement, since helping the country claim gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014. Both are men are now hoping to use this as a springboard and hopefully secure a slot to compete at the Rio Olympics.
“We’re happy with this win, considering it’s our first international title. Right now, we can use this to improve our confidence and hopefully we can be a lot more consistent after this,” V Shem told Harian Metro.
“We prepared thoroughly prior to the match, but we never expected to clinch the win in under 30 minutes. I’m pretty sure that my understanding with Wee Kiong is also improving,” he added.
Both men will now move on to compete at the Mexico Grand Prix, which officially gets underway tomorrow.
WHAT DO WE THINK?
This is certainly an important win for the duo. The battle for Rio won’t be easy as they will be up against Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong, but this victory will inevitably boost their confidence significantly. But from the perspective of BAM, the US Open [as well as the Mexico Open] aren’t significant tournaments, meaning that it would be crucial for V Shem and Wee Kiong to carry their momentum and do well in more significant tournaments, particularly in the months leading up to the Olympics. As of now, they’re underdogs – though they’ve undoubtedly given themselves a fighting chance with this win.
Other posts by FO Newsdesk
