Bangkok: Former World No. 1 men’s pair Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong of Malaysia eased into Thailand Masters second round on Wednesday, beating Kittinupong Kedren/Dechapol Puavaranukroh of Thailand 21-13, 21-15 in just 27 minutes.
The pair who left the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) last month and was looking forward to start their badminton career as an independent pair, told reporter that leaving BAM was really a hard decision.
“It’s not easy to leave BAM. Wee Kiong and I have rounds of discussions with our own families and parents, because there were many things to consider, such as financial and all other kind of arrangements,” said Goh.
“However we have no regret with our decision of leaving BAM. We’ll take it as new learning experience for us,” added Goh.
Talking about their current sponsorship compared to Olympics silver medalist Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying who had already signed a deal with badminton equipment manufacturer, Li-Ning, Goh said they have not land any endorsements yet.
“We are still looking,” added Goh.
The World No. 14 pair will take on Masato Takano/Yoshiki Tsukamoto of Japan in the second round.
Meanwhile, there were no surprises in the women’s singles draw, as all the seeded players were progressing to the second round.
