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Kien Keat and Boon Heong slam the umpire for unfair call
THE umpire spoiled the day for Malaysia’s men’s doubles once again at the All-England. A controversial decision by umpire Gavin Smith of England to give Koo Kien Keat a red card with the match evenly poised at 20-20 in the decider saw world No. 6 Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong crashing out 21-12, 17-21, 20-22 to China’s Hong Wei-Shen Ye in the second round. It all began with Kien Keat requesting time out for some water. The request was denied but Kien Keat mistook the hand gesture and went ahead to have a drink which prompted the umpire to issue a yellow card for defiance. Kien Keat immediately returned to the court where Boon Heong’s request for the floor to be mopped was also denied. Just before taking his serve, Kien Keat stood at the side of the court to wipe off his sweat and the furious umpire, apparently convinced that the Malaysian was delaying play, flashed the red card which meant awarding a point to their opponents.  Rising pair: China’s Hong Wei (right) and Shen Ye in action against Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong during their men’s doubles second round match on Thursday. The China pair won 12-21, 21-17, 22-20. — AFP
The two cards in one minute got the Malaysian pair all riled up and they protested vehemently, but in vain. Even the usually quiet English fans booed to show their displeasure over the umpire’s decision. Play resumed but the incident broke the rhythm of the Malaysians and the China pair romped home for their second career win over Kien Keat-Boon Heong and a place in the quarter-finals against South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung. The umpire was also a telling factor in 2004 when Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah faced Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen of Denmark in the All-England final. The Malaysians were on the brink of victory at 15-9, 13-11 when umpire Jane Hancock awarded the Danes a point even though Wan Wah was not ready to receive the second serve. Kien Keat was so frustrated that he stormed off after the match but Boon Heong defended his partner. “We just wanted a break at 20-20. It wasn’t a long delay – probably less than 30 seconds. “On top of that, Kien Keat showed respect to the umpire and obeyed him when he was told that he could not have a drink. To give a red card and dock a point from us wasn’t fair, especially at that crucial stage,” he said. Boon Heong conceded that he was to blame for not finishing off the match when they were leading 19-16 in the rubber. “I served into the net at that point and the Chinese got back into the game. I’m still mentally not strong enough to deal with tense moments like these although there has been some improvement. “I will do all I can to develop my mental strength so that we can win under pressure.” Malaysia’s campaign in the men’s doubles ended when Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif also crashed out 22-24, 13-21 to Indonesia’s Mohd Ahsan-Bona Septano. credit to: thestar | 
Post time 10-3-2012 12:20 AM
