Men’s doubles duo Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong definitely proved themselves worthy of their national top rank as the two successfully won the Syed Modi International Championship (Indian Open) in Lucknow yesterday after defeating host players Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar in the finals.
The pair endured a quite an undesirable ending in the Malaysian Masters two weeks ago but all that disappointment was cast aside after a stunning victory in the Indian Open, which they secured after a strenuous match.
The Indian pair took the lead in the Babu Banarasi Das stadium as V Shem and Wee Kiong were downed in the first set 14-21 but the two showed no signs of fatigue and bounced back strong to claim the second set 24-22. After manhandling their opponents, the third set was an easy one as they won 21-8 ultimately to claim their first title in the championship. The match lasted for an hour and one minute.
This is the pair’s second international title after their triumph in the US Open Grand Prix Gold last year. Furthermore, this was the second meeting between the two pairs, the first being the 2014 Thomas Cup group stage in New Delhi and the Malaysian side once again bagged their win in their opponents’ home ground.
V Shem and Wee Kiong took home incentives worth USD9,480 (RM39,000) whereas Chopra and Dewalkar won a total of USD4,560 (RM18,000).
“It was hard to beat them, especially during the opening set. They were very energetic and they had major confidence,” said Wee Kiong as quoted from Utusan.
“Thank goodness we both were calm and handle our problems in a good way. We started making strategies and changed our pattern and ended up winning.”
“This victory also levelled up our spirits to face the next Grand Prix Gold in Bangkok, Thailand next February 8 to 13.”
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