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Gong Ruina Retires at the Top of Her Game
"Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates" said Magic Johnson. Tan Boon Heong and Koo Kien Keat need to play totally in synch as a team to continue their winning ways in badminton.
They have been teammates for three years. Winning as team involves understanding your teammate's strengths and weaknesses. Their time playing together has been a good learning experience for them. They have learned equally from their losses and defeats. The future looks bright for them.
Tan Boon Heong and Koo Kien Keat are two shining stars of badminton for Malaysia. They are a men's doubles team for Malaysia. They have been playing together since 2006 when Malaysia's badminton coach Rexy Mainaky decided to team them together. They have accomplished a lot together as a men's doubles team.
They won the men's doubles at the 2007 Denmark Super Series that was held in Odense, Denmark. In addition, they won the Phillipines Open in 2007. In addition, they won the 2007 Swiss Open Super Series after the 2007 All England tournament, that is the fourth tournament of the 2007 BWF Super Series. Additionally, they won several other tournaments as well.
They have had their share of disappointments too. They lost to the Indonesia team Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the French Open. Losing in the Olympics was a big disappointment because a lot of people especially in their homeland of Malaysia was looking for them to medal in the Olympics.
There have been other issues on their doubles team too. Koo Kien Keat has a strong personality and a lot of self-confidence. He loves to speak his mind. Malaysian's doubles coach Rexy Mainaky thinks Koo Kien Keat is arrogant. It's gotten to the point where there are rumours that their doubles team might split up.
Part of the problem is that Koo Kien Keat and the coach Rexy Mainaky just don't like each other and they don't get along. It's been suggested that Tan Boon Heong and Koo Kien Keat be teamed with younger players so that there can be just one leader on the doubles team. Right now they are both leaders and no one wants to be second in command to the other and this is creating problems.
Despite the current problems Koo Kien Keat and Tau Boon Heong still seem to be playing well together. They revenged their defeats to the Indonesia double team of Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan by beating them in the quarter finals of the Hong Kong Open on November 29, 2008. They were looking to win the All England doubles title at the All England tournament in Birmingham.
They won in the first round of competition. However, they lost in the second round to Denmark's Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen on March 7, 2009. But, the future does still look bright for them. They are currently ranked as the 5th best doubles team in the world.
Tan Boon Heong and Koo Kien Kant do have some issues amongst each other. However, they are a very talented team that has the ability to beat any doubles team in the world. If they continue to stay together they will continue to win tournaments and even shock some people by beating teams ranked higher than them.
They both love the game of badminton. Therefore, their love of badminton will lead them to continue toward their pursuit of winning more tournaments and championships.
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