Badminton: Ace pair face Olympic axe

Koo Kien Keat, according to coach Rexy Mainaky, is 'big headed and non-committal' and even his partner Boon Heong is fed up of him.

WORLD No 3 doubles pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong face the possibility of being axed from the Beijing Olympic Games contingent if the former does not improve on his discipline.

National doubles coach Rexy Mainaky, never one to berate his charges in the media, has labelled Kien Keat as "big headed and non-committal" and lacks focus both on and off the court.

"I have spoken to Kien Keat about it several times but he does not want to listen. He is too big headed and even his partner Boon Heong is fed-up with him," said Rexy yesterday when contacted in Basel where the Swiss Open is being played.

"The thing that frightens me the most is the rumours I have been hearing about his lifestyle. If women are the main reason for his downfall, he better stay away from the sport.

"Let's see what happens in the coming weeks. If he does not improve, I will have no choice but to drop them from the Olympics."
Rexy said that he had the option of dropping Kien Keat-Boon Heong as two other pairs are in the top-16 bracket.

Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, semi-finalists at the recent All-England Championships and Swiss Open, are World No 4 while Mohd Zakry Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan are ranked 14.

"At this stage, both these pairs have a better chance of winning an Olympic medal in Beijing compared to them (Kien Keat-Boon Heong).

"I hope that if I am forced to drop the Kien Keat and Boon Heong combination, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will fully support my decision."

Kien Keat-Boon Heong, after a fantastic outing last year, have failed to make an impact so far this year.

In the Malaysian Open season opener in January, they lost in the second round before being shown the door in the first round of the All-England.

In the Swiss Open, which concluded yesterday, Kien Keat and Boon Heong fell in the second stage.

The scary thing is that all of their losses have been against lower ranked opponents.

However, Rexy said he had no plans to quit as national doubles coach.

"I will commit to my contract till it expires in 2009," he said

NST