JAPAN OPEN 2010 – Double blow for Korea, double joy for Malaysia

In the doubles event in Tokyo, there were a lot of surprises. Korea’s two best pairs got beaten in the first round while  both Mak/Tan and Lim/Chan provided the big upsets for Malaysia.

By Raphaël Sachetat. Photos (live) : Badmintonphoto

Tokyo, September 22^nd 2010 – On Kim Dong Moon’s 35th birthday, the Korean men’s doubles did not provide the kind of show they used to give out on special occasions. Lee Yong Dae and Jung Jae Sung were shown the exit by an inspired pair of Prapakamol and Anugritayawon, who won in straight games 22-20, 21-13. The first to be surprised were the Thais themselves, who had never gotten close to beating the Koreans.

“I think Lee Yong Dae was still injured. They didn’t play so well today, especially in the second game,” said Sudket Prapakamol.

“We certainly didn’t expect to win,” added his partner Songphon, still laughing at his trick. “We both came here mainly for the mixed doubles, but we figured that we’d play doubles to enjoy ourselves, just for the fun of it, even if we wanted to give them a good fight. We certainly didn’t think we could beat them one day,” he hinted, looking at the draw to find out who they were to play next.

Earlier on, Korea’s second best pair of Yoo and Ko (photo) – who just last month earned passage to the world’s top 10 and who reached the China Masters final on Sunday –  were also sent packing by Malaysia’s Mak Hee Chun and Tan Wee Kiong, who also won in the best manner, straight games of 21-16, 21-14.

“We didn’t expect to win this match as they had just beaten us in China, in straight games. We knew that this time we should just focus on our game and play relaxed. Playing without pressure helped a lot. We had nothing to lose, so we played our game today,” said Tan Wee Kiong.

“No set targets for this event either.  We’ll take one match at a time, but we hope that we can get soon to the stage where we can play with the big guns and qualify for the Olympics 2012,” added the friendly Malaysian

To Make Malaysia’s day even brighter – on top of the easy round of Koo and Tan – Chan Peng Soon and Lim Khim Wah (photo) did even better by beating one of the pairs favoured for the title – Denmark’s Boe and Mogensen, seeded third. The Malaysians were all fired up and once they got even in the second game, they seemed to find the extra energy to take it home 18-21, 21-19, 21-10.

Fortunately for Korea, two other pairs made it to the second round with Setiawan and Kido not showing up, enabling Cho and Kwon to enter the next stage without having to play the Olympic champions while Shin Baek Cheol and Kim Ki Jung kept the Korean flag flying by beating Taipei’s Fang and Lee, seeded 6^th in the draw.  It was a grudge match for Kim/Shin, who lost two three-game matches to the Taiwan pair in consecutive weeks this past July, in Canada and the U.S.  Both they and Cho/Kwon are eager to prove themselves in the run-up to the Asian Games.

All Results HERE

If you are to visit Tokyo for the Japan Open, you should stay in our partner hotel, the Chisun Grand Akasaka, a classy and modern hotel just a few minutes away from the venue, the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Click HERE to find out more about our partner hotel.