OLYMPIC MD PREVIEW : Can Koo and Tan end Title Drought?

The men’s doubles event is one of the most exciting ones and the draw has made things even more interesting with first round battles that could easily have passed for finals. Malaysia’s Koo and Tan, for once, are not favourites, but could pull an upset as challengers.

Raphael Sachetat, Live in Beijing. Photos : Badmintonphoto

From the joyful look upon Rexy Mainaky’s face when the Malaysian players were leaving the Arena, things seemed under control a few days before the kick off of the men’s doubles event. However, Koo Kien Keat (pictured here defending on the floor) and Tan Boon Heong will have to start their journey against their bogeymen, Japan’s Sakamoto and Ikeda, who have beaten the young Malaysians the last two times they have met, including at last year's World Championships.

Yet for once, the pressure is not necessarily on the Malaysian shoulders later in the draw as, if they make it to the second round, they could be challenging the top seeds of the event, Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan, from Indonesia – if they beat China’s second knives of Xie and Guo. This might not look like such a comfortable position for the Malaysians on paper but not only do Koo and Tan have a good record against this pair, but they are never better than when they are the challenger defying the odds, just like in their debuts, when they clinched 4 tournaments in a row while unseeded.

This potential quarter-final however will have to wait while some other incredible early round matches take place. In fact, Koo/Tan are not the only ones facing ghosts from their World Championship past as the highlight of the day on August 12th at 20:50 local time will be Lars Paarske and Jonas Ramsussen taking on the young Koreans Lee Yong Dae and Jung Jae Sung and to repeat their 2006 upset in Madrid. Whoever wins this match will be hoping for a semi-final clash against the teams previously mentioned who are in the top of the draw.

Danger for Cai and Fu

The Chinese have not been lucky with the draw. They were apart, as the rule stipulates, but so far apart that one takes on the top seed (Guo and Xie) while the other, the Cai and Fu (photo) duo, who should have enjoyed a quieter draw, have had the bad luck of drawing Denmark’s Eriksen and Lundgaard, who are playing their last major competition together, hoping for an early upset and banking on their experience and the pressure on their opponent’s shoulders.

Expected to meet the winner of this tough first round battle are Malaysia’s best pair so far, Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan Fook, who also hope to be the ones ending Malaysia’s title drought in the Olympic Games. The veterans from BAM will take on Korea’s Lee and Hwang in a tricky first round before a potential clash against Indonesia's Alvent Yulianto and Luluk Hadiyanto, who are desperately looking for a major win this season.

To see the Olympic Men's Doubles draw and match schedule, click HERE

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