Kian Meng still eager to go to Rio albeit on lesser role
- KNG ZHENG GUAN
- Jul 25, 2016
- 2 min read
Kian Meng (front) will join Iskandar Zulkarnain as sparring players for the national team in Rio.
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttler Tan Kian Meng is delighted to be going to the Olympics – albeit as a sparring partner.
The 22-year-old Kian Meng and Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin, the national No. 2 men’s singles player, have been picked by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) as the team’s sparring partners in Rio de Janeiro from Aug 5-21.
The duo will leave for Rio on July 29 with Lee Chong Wei (men’s singles) Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (men’s doubles), Tee Jing Yi (women’s singles), Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei (women’s doubles) and Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (mixed doubles).
“I’m really quite excited to be given this chance to go to the Olympics together with the team,” confessed Kian Meng who switched to the doubles from singles a year ago.
“I’ll get to see how the top players prepare for one of the biggest tournaments in the world and I do hope to learn something too.
“I believe this is a good motivation for me as well and I hope to work hard to qualify for the next Olympics,” he added.
Kian Meng, however, will have to put his excitement aside for the time being. He and Lai Pei Jing will compete in the Vietnam Open which starts in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.
World No. 37 Kian Meng-Pei Jing, who were runners-up at the Malaysian Masters in January and the Taiwan Open earlier this month, are the third seeds.
They take on Thai youngsters Pakin Kuna-anuvit-Kwanchanok Sudjaipraparat in the first round on Wednesday. They should progress to the quarter-finals where they are slated to meet sixth seeds Chang Ko-chi-Chang Hsin-tien of Taiwan.
“Our coaches want us to win the title in Vietnam. But we’ll take it step by step and try to make the semi-finals first and take it from there,” said Kian Meng.
In the men’s singles, Malaysia are represented by independent shuttlers Chong Wei Feng, Zulfadli Zulkiffli, Tan Chun Seang, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif, Goh Giap Chin and Chiang Jiann Shiarng.
There are seven Malaysian pairs – Tan Chee Tean-Tan Wee Gieen, Chooi Kah Ming-Low Juan Shen, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Lim Khim Wah-Ong Jian Guo, Tai An Khang-Yew Hong Kheng, Hoon Thien How-Teo Kok Siang and Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayup-Jagdish Singh – in the men’s doubles.
Sources: The Star