National men’s doubles Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong said goodbye to their chances of winning the All England title after going down to Hiroyuki Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa in the semi-finals of the All England Championship at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham two days ago.
The Malaysian duo, who were high in spirits after defeating former World No. 1 men’s doubles pair Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong 21-19, 22-20, made a number of errors and lacked passion after losing 13-21, 15-21 in just 43 minutes to the Japanese pair.
They would have become the first Malaysian duo since Kien Keat/Boon Heong in 2011 to reach the final of the All England Championship if they had won the last-four match.
However, Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong have won a ticket to participate in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil after ousting Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong.
Russian pairing of Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov clinched their first All England Open title after taking down the Japanese duo 21-23, 21-18, 21-16 in the finals of the All England.
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