IT was not the most convincing of ways but struggling Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong will be still be relieved after earning themselves a first opportunity at a title this year when they advanced to the Macau Open doubles final yesterday.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong's last title, the Denmark Open, was secured 11 months ago and the Macau Open final is their first this year.

The title should be easy pickings today but Kien Keat-Boon Heong's 21-14, 25-23 win over Indonesia's back-up pair Fernando Kurniawan-Lingga Lie yesterday was hardly convincing.

They will meet another lower ranked pair -- Fang Chieh Min-Lee Sheng Mu of Taiwan -- who beat Malaysians Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng 21-18, 14-21, 21-11, today.

Fernando-Lingga could have made it worse had they capitalised on a 11-6 lead in the second game but Kien Keat-Boon Heong's experience helped them escape another embarrassment after having lost to China's back-up pair Sun Junjie-Xu Chen in the China Masters second round last week.
Still, memories of last year's triumph in Macau should motivate the Malaysians as they defeated 2007 world championships runners-up Jung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae of South Korea, current Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan and compatriots Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah en route to the title then.

Victory today will help Kien Keat-Boon Heong regain some of their lost confidence and begin their long road to redemption.

However, underestimating their Taiwanese opponents is something they must avoid as this has brought them pain on numerous occasions.

In the women's doubles, back-up pair Ng Hui Lin-Woon Khe Wei's run was ended in the semi-finals by China's Ma Jin-Wang Xiaoli, who won 21-12, 21-12.