hurray! all england double championship is ours!

congrats to koo kien keat (picture right) and tan boon heong (picture left – taken from the star) malaysia’s badminton doulbes players! they won the all england title! the last time malaysia won the title was 25 years ago through the sidek brothers.

badminton… and world cup are the only sports i watch… if live. how come this game of the double pair was not shown on tv? i suppose it was in astro? (i don’t have astro and NEVER intend to have one).report from the star:

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian hotshots Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong gave an awesome display to end Malaysia’s 25-year wait for a men’s doubles title in the All-England badminton championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham here Sunday.

The duo, who hardly showed any nerves in their first outing as a pair in the All-England, tore apart world champions and top seeds Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China 21-15, 21-18 in a 38-minute battle.

And as soon as they had won, 21-year-old Kien Keat jumped for joy and rolled over in sheer delight, while national coach Rexy Mainaky ran onto the court and hugged 20-year-old debutant Boon Heong.

Kien Keat and Boon Heong’s victory was the perfect birthday gift for Rexy, who turned 39 on March 9.

In fact, Kien Keat, who had crashed out in the early rounds of the All-England with different partners over the last three years, will go bald, as he had promised to do if he won the title.

The pair’s superb win Sunday ended Malaysia’s agonising 25-year wait for the title, which was last won by the Sidek brothers – Jalani and Razif — in 1982.

And what makes the All-England victory sweeter for the Malaysians was that they did not drop a single game in the competition.

There was never a doubt that Kien Keat-Boon Heong were in with a shot after they began the match with a superb attacking display in the first game to take an 8-6 lead.

The Chinese, who had lost to the Malaysians in the quarter-finals of the Asian Games in December, found it hard to keep pace with their speedy opponents, who were superior in all departments.

The Chinese pair lost tamely in the first game, but the second game saw them putting up a better fight.

It was a ding-dong battle from the start of the second game as the lead was exchanged several times.

The Chinese kept up the pressure throughout but the Malaysian "bravehearts" did not give in and held on to clinch victory.

Jalani Sidek, who last won the title with brother Razif, said the Malaysians won because of their superior tactical game.

"I knew this pair would win the title for us. The Chinese were good in attacking too but our Malaysians were superb in both attacking and tactical play.

"Kien Keat played brilliantly and Boon Heong certainly did not show his inexperience at all playing in his first All-England," said Jalani