Koo-Tan blown away

KOO Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong had to concede to the superiority of Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng as they fell 21-9, 21-13 in their London Olympics semi-final at the Wembley Arena on Saturday.

The China pair, seeking to go one better than the silver they won in Beijing four years ago, were simply too good for the Malaysians, who were caught off guard when Cai Yun-Haifeng adopted a different strategy in the first game.

Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong just couldn't match Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng.

The Malaysians, who lost the semi-final in just 34 minutes, now must lift themselves for Sunday's tough  bronze playoff against Chung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae after the South Korean's were shocked 21-17, 18-21, 20-22 by Denmark's Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen in the other semi-final.

"We wanted to control the net in the first game but the China pair surprised us by playing as aggressively as Jae Sung-Yong Dae did in their (group) match against us. This confused us and we were unable to make any headway in the first game," said Kien Keat.

The first game finished in a flash, Cai Yun-Haifeng needing only 13 minutes to take their first step towards the final.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong gave it a better shot in the second, but Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng were never really under any real threat and after a point-for-point exchange, made their move at 11-11 when they raced to 15-12.

Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng are on course to improve on their Beijing 2008 silver.

From there on, the Malaysians were forced to play catch-up and despite inching themselves to 19-20, the China pair sealed their place in the final.

"It is terribly disappointing but we now have to lift ourselves up for the bronze. It will be difficult but we have to as we want a medal," said Boon Heong.