Wei Chong-Kai Wun shrug off Istora jeers, eye stronger comeback
KUALA LUMPUR: Men's doubles ace Tee Kai Wun is not losing sleep over the hostile reception he and Man Wei Chong received during their Indonesia Open semi-final recently.
The world No. 7 were jeered by a packed Istora Senayan crowd when they took on home favourites Sabar Karyaman Gutama–Moh Reza Pahlevi in Jakarta.
The Malaysians eventually went down 21-18, 12-21, 21-18.
But rather than dwell on the incident, Kai Wun is choosing to take it in stride.
"I didn't see it as a big deal. The home fans were probably just trying to support their players by getting into our heads and disrupting us mentally — that's normal," said the 25-year-old after a training session on Friday.
"But honestly, we've never experienced anything quite like that — at least not to that extent. It was overwhelming, but definitely something we can learn from and try to handle better moving forward.
"Maybe the crowd was trying to break our momentum, especially since we had done quite well in the last two tournaments in Indonesia. But it's part and parcel of playing in front of a passionate crowd. We accept it.
"It's really not a huge problem. Every player goes through this kind of pressure at some point in their career. Other major tournaments — like the World Championships — can be just as intense. Ultimately, it's on us to manage the situation and stay focused."
Known for its deafening atmosphere, the iconic Istora has long been regarded as one of the toughest arenas for visiting players, especially Malaysians, due to the longstanding rivalry between the two nations.
Despite the semi-final exit, Wei Chong-Kai Wun have been enjoying a resurgence of form.
After a string of four early exits since March, the duo roared back to life by winning the Malaysia Masters Super 500, reaching the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open Super 750, and making the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 — all in the space of three weeks.
"We've got a month to prepare for Japan and China," said Kai Wun, referring to the back-to-back Japan Open (Super 750) and China Open (Super 1000) next month.
"We need to fix our shortcomings from the past tournaments. We have to push ourselves in training, no matter how tough, and make the most of the next few weeks.
"We're definitely a better pair than we were in past years, but we've got to work hard to keep this going and stay consistent. We can't afford to let our guard down and flop in Japan — that would undo all that we've built recently.
"If we want to move up in the world rankings, we have to start getting better results at the Super 750 and Super 1000 events. We'll get our chance to do that next month."
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