Tame end for Hoon and Tan (pic)

BIRMINGHAM: It was tame finish in the end for Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong as they crashed out in the quarter-finals of the All-England.

Fifth seeds Thien How-Wee Kiong let themselves down as they failed to stem the challenge of Indonesians Gideon Markis Fernaldi-Markis Kido, losing 18-21, 12-21 on Friday.

The Malaysian world No.7 pair started the match on equal footing with the French Open champions and were neck-and-neck in the first game.

Gideon-Markis however pulled away at 16-16 as they provided a stronger finish to take the first game.

Thien How-Wee Kiong’s confidence also took a hit with several unfavourable service fault calls on the former and the Indonesians, powered by Gideon’s bundles of energy, smashed their way into the semi-finals.

“We made too many mistakes once again. Failing to control proceedings at the net also caused us to lose,” said Wee Kiong.

“Besides, we were affected by the number of calls that went against us.

“The fact that we got affected mentally and were emotionally unstable during the match is the biggest disappointment in our game,” added Wee Kiong.

A second Indonesian pair, sixth seeds Angga Pratama-Ryan Agung Saputra however failed to join their compatriots in the semi-finals after falling to Japan’s Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa.

The Japanese second seeds fought tooth-and-nail before clinching their last four spot 22-20, 15-21, 21-19.

Meanwhile, England’s sole representatives in the quarter-finals – mixed doubles pair Chris Adcock-Gabrielle Adcock – bowed out after suffering a thrashing at the hands of Chinese top seeds Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei.