MALAYSIA OPEN 2014 Finals – Birth of the new golden boys

Goh V Shem / Lim Khim Wah completed their Malaysia Open sprint by bringing themselves to another level with their first ever Superseries title, beating Chai Biao / Hong Wei of China. All-time hero Lee Chong Wei hammered his perfect 10 by silencing Tommy Sugiarto in straight games.

By Ooi Ee Lyn, Badzine Correspondent live in Kuala Lumpur. Photos: Yves Lacroix for Badmintonphoto (live)

This was the first time for Goh V Shem / Lim Khim Wah (pictured) in the final of a Superseries event, and this first was made more memorable by ending it with a victory in the end. Goh/Lim, supported by a stadium filled with excited spectators, took Chai Biao / Hong Wei in straight games.

“We’ve prepared for this match for a long time,” said Goh. “It’s our first Superseries final, and we’re now the champions. I’m really happy that we succeeded in the end.”

With a solid backup force behind them, the hyped up Goh/Lim were seen consistently waving their hands between rallies as a sign of encouragement for spectators to cheer louder. Chai/Hong, who had the entire stadium of fans against them, then turned to join forces with their opponents by also signalling local fans to cheer harder – despite it not being for them.

When asked whether the deafening noise in the stadium was distracting for them, Lim Khim Wah said, “No. They are our home ground crowd, and we have great supporters here, so we are not afraid. They [Chai and Hong] were more afraid.

“As much as they try to psychologise us, we do it back to them. We are not the ones in fear, they are. This is good psychology for us,” explained Lim regarding their opponents’ act of asking for more noise from the crowd.

Coach: “Forget about the victory”

After the victory ceremony, Malaysian coach Pang Cheh Chang had advice for the new golden boys, who pocketed the men’s doubles crown at home four years after Koo/Tan did. “Good pressure will make you stronger. Now that you have won, you must not think that you are satisfied, as they [China] will be more prepared. China will analyse our game and crack our games again,” said Pang to the pair.

“I hope now that they have won this, they will forget about the victory, and maintain their training as well as the attitude,” added Pang.

Perfect 10 for Lee Chong Wei

Lee Chong Wei (pictured) lived up to expectations without succumbing to the pressure of the goal of clinching his tenth Malaysia Open title.

“I wanted to win this tenth title, and it has put a lot of pressure on me this week. My mum and wife, too, think I’m very tense just by looking at my face. When the match ended, I think my shoulders felt lighter,” said the Malaysian all-time favourite.

Lee took the match from Tommy Sugiarto 21-19, 21-9 despite having a dangerous start, and while expressing his joy of finally bagging the crown for the tenth time, Lee also referred again to the possibility of retirement by the end of the year, which he had first mentioned after his semi-final match.

“Maybe this is my last Malaysia Open. I’m still not sure whether I’ll still carry on playing after the Asian Games this year. I’ll see how my results are after the Asian Games and World Championships. If I’m injury-free, I’ll continue and try again. If I’m not in good condition, I’ll stop my career end of this year, and in December I will retire,” revealed the world #1.

Three for China

In the women’s singles final, Li Xuerui had a good start in her first tournament of the year, beating 2011 champion Wang Shxian in straight games.

“I’m quite lucky here in Malaysia. I was one of the main players for the Sudirman Cup here last year when we won the championship, and [I won at] the Superseries Finals here last month. Now my first tournament this year is here in Malaysia, and I made it into the finals [and won]. Besides, the food here is really good,” said 22-year-old Li, who hopes to have a steady performance throughout 2014 unlike the previous year.

Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua are now unbeaten in seven consecutive tournaments, three of which include tournaments where they defeated Misaki Matsutomo / Ayaka Takahashi along the way. The Japanese lost their match and presented Bao with her second Malaysia Open title in a row, this time with Tang Jinhua.

In the mixed doubles final, Joachim Fischer Nielsen / Christinna Pedersen failed to defend their title. They let it slip away into the hands of Xu Chen (pictured) and Ma Jin after battling for an hour and nine minutes.

Final results
WS: Li Xuerui (CHN) [1] beat Wang Shixian (CHN) [2]  21-16, 21-17
WD: Bao Yixin / Tang Jinhua (CHN) [5] beat Misaki Matsutomo / Ayaka Takahashi (JPN) [3]  21-19, 14-21, 21-13
MD: Goh V Shem / Lim Khim Wah (MAS) beat Chai Biao / Hong Wei (CHN)  21-19, 21-18
XD: Xu Chen / Ma Jin (CHN) [4] beat Joachim Fischer Nielsen / Christinna Pedersen (DEN) [3]  21-11, 17-21, 21-13
MS: Lee Chong Wei (MAS) [1] beat Tommy Sugiarto (INA) [4]  21-19, 21-9

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