Koo 3rd #1 in 5 weeks to become a father

Late last month, Koo Kien Keat of Malaysia became the third men’s doubles world #1 in the space of five weeks to become a father .  In February, current world #1 Hendra Setiawan celebrated the arrival of twins, followed less than two weeks later by Jung Jae Sung of Korea.  On March 23rd, it was Koo’s turn, as he and his wife welcomed their son Dayson, into the world, as reported in The Star last Friday.

Each of the three men – all of whom have been ranked #1 in the world in the past five years – managed to get a reprieve from fatherly duties long enough to get back to the courts quickly for competitions.  Setiawan was the quickest to get back on court as he celebrated fatherhood by winning his first All England title in early March.  Jung’s foray on court was much closer to home as he helped his Samsung team win the spring title in Korea.  Koo will get his chance to test fatherly fortunes in a couple of weeks at the New Zealand Open.