DOUBLES player Koo Kien Keat will be allowed to train with the national team for the World Championships though he had quit the BAM set-up in February after he was taken to task by critics for poor performances.
When asked whether Kien Keat would get approval to join the national squad for training, coach Pang Cheh Chang replied: “He should be able to train with us for the World Championships.
“I will have to meet the management before finalising the training programme.
“We will also have to wait for our shuttlers to return from the Commonwealth Games,” said Cheh Chang yesterday.
Kien Keat currently trains at Granular, a professional club in Thailand, where he is also doing some coaching.
He will reunite with his former partner Tan Boon Heong for one last shot at the World Championships in Copenhagen on August 25-31.
For Cheh Chang, the World Championships will serve as a warm-up for his shuttlers competing in the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea in September.
Cheh Chang, who reshuffled the men’s doubles department for the Thomas Cup Finals in May, admitted that the pairings for the World Championships will not be retained for the Asian Games.
“My main focus is the Asian Games.
“The players know the World Championships is a tournament for them to get that high level competition feel. If they can do well, then it’s a bonus.
“Two players (Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong) are currently in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, so I am now focusing on the physical strength of the players here in KL.”
Apart from V Shem and Wee Kiong, the others who will compete in the World Championships under Cheh Chang are Hoon Thien How, Boon Heong, Kien Keat, and Lim Khim Wah.
V Shem will be reunited with Khim Wah, while Wee Kiong will pair up with Thien How.
“The players must be at their peak for the Asian Games, because it will be really tough.
“China were beaten in the Thomas Cup final, but they will come back strongly. South Korea are the host, so I can only imagine how tough it’s going to be.”