KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s former men’s doubles ace Tan Boon Heong said top national women’s doubles duo Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah did not crash out of the BWF World Tour Finals because of him.
This came after Boon Heong had three sparring sessions with the world-number-11 pair.
“Many said to me that I was the cause of their loss after my sparring sessions with them before the World Tour Finals,” said the former world number one.
“Let me be clear. I was not there to coach them, but as agreed with coach Rexy (Mainaky), I was only there to help them spar.
“I only shared advice based on my experience, but they know it might not necessarily suit their style.
“If whatever I said goes with their style, they would take it. If not, they would not. I am sure they know that too.”
Pearly-Thinaah crashed out of the season-ending event after losing to Indonesia’s Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti and China’s Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan in the first and second Group B stage matches, respectively.
Boon Heong’s first match play with Pearly-Thinaah was on October 15 before they headed for the Denmark and French Opens.
He added that the duo would need to return from the World Tour Finals with a fresh mind so they could prepare themselves for the upcoming Malaysia Open.
The Super 1000 event is scheduled to be held at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil from January 10-15.
Meanwhile, Boon Heong, who runs the TBH Badminton Academy, had received a total of RM320,000 in sponsorship from sports brand Li Ning, coffee brand Aik Cheong, and educational technology company EduTech Malaysia.
The money will be utilised to run a nationwide community badminton programme for kids between the age of 6 and 12, as well as social badminton players.
“When I was a kid, it was difficult for my family to send me for proper badminton training because we could not afford to pay the fees,” he said when met at the sponsors’ mock cheque presentation today in Bangsar South.
“So, I am doing this to give the kids exposure to badminton at an early age and provide them with some of the equipment, such as jerseys and shuttlecocks.
“Who knows if it might spark an interest in any of them that could someday turn into true passion for the sport.”
Boon Heong added that the programme will run from February, with Selangor as the first location.
He added that there will be one event per month for each state. – The Vibes, December 9, 2022
