Long-Awaited Triumph

Long-Awaited Triumph - Shuttlers Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei showed true grit to win the New Zealand Open to prove that their careers are far from over.

Yesterday, the top seeds ended a six-year agonising wait for an Open title by dishing out one of their best performances to beat Ayako Sakura­moto-Yukiko Takahata of Japan 18-21, 21-16, 21-19 in a marathon women’s doubles final that lasted for one hour and 39 minutes at the North Shore Events Centre in Auckland.

It’s the first Open title for Vivian-Khe Wei since winning the 2009 Indonesian Open Grand Prix Gold in Jakarta.

The world No. 14 have been under fire this year for below-par performances. And it led to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria setting them a gold-medal target at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games from Aug 19-30. He said that anything less would probably see them being split up.

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Khe Wei, who had an injury scare in yesterday’s rubber game, was brimming with joy.

“We finally made it after waiting for so long. It feels good to win an Open title again. Vivian and I showed that we are still the best,” said Khe Wei.

“In the decider, I felt a pull on my right Achilles tendon and feared the worst. I was at panic stations. Fortunately, I was able to play on. It’s nothing serious.

“Vivian did superbly to cover the court for me. We played smart this time.”

Vivian said that they would try to keep the momentum going until the Games.

The badminton competition at the Axiata Arena is from Aug 22-29.

“We’ve never played a match this long before (99 minutes). It showed how badly Khe Wei and I wanted to win. Our opponents pushed us from all corners,” said an exhausted Vivian.

“I’m glad that Khe Wei and I hung on. We’ll be ready to give another good showing at the Games,” added Vivian.

Vivian-Khe Wei won the Games gold in Myanmar in 2013 and a silver in Singapore in 2015.

They also have a good track record in other multi-sport Games. In 2014, they bagged the gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and a historic bronze at the Incheon Asian Games in South Korea.

Vivian-Khe Wei also created history at the Rio Olympics last year when they became the first Malaysian pair to reach the women’s doubles quarter-finals.