Boon Heong: Kien Keat and I let fame get to our heads

If there is one thing Tan Boon Heong could correct in his illustrious playing career, it would be to embrace humility and not allow fame and success get to his head too quickly.

Tan, still a professional men’s doubles player, achieved the giddy heights of number one on the world rankings with partner Koo Kien Keat in 2007 and 2010.

The pair are considered one of Malaysia’s greatest pairs and went on to achieve big things in their careers including the All-England Championships (2007), Asian Games (2006) and a runner-up finish at the 2010 World Championships.

But Tan feels the pair could have achieved more success if they were level-headed.

"We got famous at a young age and our thinking was foolish back then. We lost our discipline, got too big headed and our performance dropped as a result. When we became world number one, there was no else to look above us.

"So we stopped listening to our coach's [Rexy Mainaky] advice. If I were to become a coach one day, discipline is one thing I would emphasise, along with fitness. I feel Malaysian players are highly skillful, yet we can’t win in decisive moments," he said.

Koo echoed his former partner’s comments, summing up their partnership as ‘achieving success too fast’.

"We tasted success too fast without enduring many obstacles at that time. But for me at that time, I personally never took any tournaments for granted.

"Even though I lost, I wanted to feel satisfaction in that defeat, which meant playing wholeheartedly in that game and giving everything I had,” said Koo, who felt the culture in the national setup wasn’t ‘healthy’ back then.

"The seniors and juniors were training separately. I felt if we had worked together, we could have reached our full potential. We were supposed to learn from each other."

Koo also did not shut the door on returning to the national fold as a coach in the future, but added: "If I were to do so, it will not be due to monetary reasons. I want to come to genuinely share my knowledge."

Koo and Tan split in 2014 after more than a decade as a pair.

They renewed their partnership in 2015 under a private sponsorship and managed to win the Dutch Open title before calling it quits when they missed out on the 2016 Olympics in Rio.