KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s doubles, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong failed in their mission to end the two year drought when they lost in the men’s doubles final of the Malaysia Masters earlier today.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalists were beaten on home turf by Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto, 21-14, 22-24, 13-21, at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
Wee Kiong said unforced errors committed by the both of them especially in the second game clearly disrupted their match rhythm which gave their opponents renewed confidence to get back into the match.
“Overall, we did play well today but really, we made too many unforced errors in the second game. When our opponents managed to collect point after point, it gave them the confidence they needed to get back into the match and take the second game.
“In the third game, we fought to change our strategy and we were a bit slow in reading their movements on court. It was a very tough match but I assure all of you that we will be focusing on addressing weaknesses to face the next tournament and championship,” said Wee Kiong after the final.
With the defeat, V Shem-Wee Kiong barren run without winning any titles continues as they last triumphed at the 2016 Dubai Super Series Finals.
However, not all is sad and dour as the pair who were just reunited at the end of last year, did manage to reach the semi-finals of the Thailand Masters earlier this month and the final of the Malaysia Masters.
Prior to this, both players were dismantled as a pair for four months but were reunited following the new championship format implemented by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and as preparation for qualifying for this year’s Thomas Cup.
V Shem-Wee Kiong will now focus on their challenge for the Indonesia Masters which begins this Tuesday.
They will start by taking on Danish pair, Mathias Christiansen-David Daugaard in the first round.
“We hope to keep the momentum going. We will continue to work very hard to further improve on our pairing and combination, and what’s important to note that after two tournaments since our return as a pair, we have so enjoyed a good start to our reunion,” said Wee Kiong.