Match Report - First Round XD China Open

Tan Wee Kiong/Woon Khe Wei vs. Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms

With the Asian Junior Champions the obvious underdogs against former World Champions and World Number 1, Malaysia did not expect them to pull off a win. The question was how much could our youngsters stretch the veterans.

The game started on equal terms, with both teams levelling at 1-1, 3-3 4-4 and 5-5. However, the English pair soon shot off and asserted their dominance by claiming 4 points in a row. The Malaysian youngsters tried to stop the flow of points, but failed. The English convincingly won 21-16.

The Malaysians had to find a way to stop the English from asserting their dominance. Playing from the better side of the court, Tan and Wee led 9-4. However, the experience of the English pair soon shone through, allowing the Malaysians to take another point before levelling it 10-10. However, the Malaysians continued to lead, but several unforced errors allowed the English pair to level at 13-13, 15-15, then 16-16. After that, the English then upped the pace and did not allow the Malaysians to take another point and won the second game in a mirror score of the first, 21-16.

This shows that the relatively inexperienced pair of Tan and Wee have to be exposed to more international level games, which is exactly what coach Rexy is doing to them. I think it should be a matter of time before they start winning big.

For results on the China Open, go here:



Badminton Loonsport - First Round Result, XD