KUALA LUMPUR − A sparkling future lies ahead for national mixed doubles pair, Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See.
That was the observation made by 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist, Chan Peng Soon, following their impressive debut in the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland, recently.
“I would rate eight out of 10 on their performance in the Sudirman Cup. I believe they have a bright future in badminton if they were to maintain their dazzling form in Finland,” he told Bernama.
Hoo-Cheah rose to the occasion when they created an upset by winning against two world top ten pairs in the mixed team championship held at the Energia Areena.
Apart from being young, Chan said the dynamic pair possessed the strength, speed and incredible skills on court to someday emerge as the world’s best.
The world number 25 pair brushed aside the challenge from Marcus Ellis-Lauren Smith, ranked seventh-best in the world, with a score of 21-19, 21-18, en route to help Malaysia edge England 3-2, in their opening Group D match.
Despite losing 21-16, 21-9 to Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino from Japan, which also saw the team from the Land of the Rising Sun triumphing 4-1 over the national squad in the last group match, the duo remained spirited enough to make another statement of intent in their next match.
In a memorable nip-and-tuck quarterfinal against arch-rivals, Indonesia, Praveen Jordan-Melati Daeva Oktavianti became Hoo-Cheah’s latest victims as they stunned the world number four, 21-19, 9-21, 21-16, to chalk-up the winning point for Malaysia.
Malaysia recorded their first victory against one of the tournament favourites, England, after three encounters since losing 1-4 in their first meeting in the group stage of the 1999 edition in Copenhagen, Denmark.
However, Chan, who partnered Goh Liu Ying, reminded Hoo-Cheah that it is pivotal for them to know how to handle pressure in any competition after this.
“I know it is quite tough to do so because they have already caught the attention of many due to their fine run in Finland. I really hope they will prevail by coping well with the pressure” he added.
Hoo-Cheah, who was first paired in 2017, have bagged three titles so far, which are the Super 100 Hyderabad Open, India International Challenge and Bangladesh International Challenge, with all the successes recorded in 2019. – Bernama, October 7, 2021
