V Shem more confident going to Europe this year (pic)

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Lim Khim Wah (right) and Goh V Shem celebrate after winning the Malaysian Open men's doubles last month. They will be taking part in the upcoming German Open GP Gold and All-England tournaments.

PETALING JAYA: A sensational outing in the Malaysian Open has given men’s doubles shuttler Goh V Shem extra motivation to erase his painful memories of Europe.

V Shem will be leaving with Lim Khim Wah for Mulheim on Saturday for the German Open Grand Prix Gold which is from Feb 25-March 2. The reigning Malaysian Open champions will also take part in the All-England from March 4-9 in Birmingham. Lim Khim Wah (right) and Goh V Shem celebrate after winning the Malaysian Open men's doubles last month. They will be taking part in the upcoming German Open GP Gold and All-England tournaments.

Last year, V Shem lost his cool when his service was faulted five times en route to losing in the second round to hosts Ingo Kindervater-Johannes Schoettler in the German Open.

It was worst in the All-England when V Shem-Khim Wah were dumped in the opening round.

“Khim Wah and I had a bad time in Europe last year. This year, we are more confident after winning the Malaysian Open and we hope to go beyond the early rounds,” said V Shem.

However, based on the draw, V Shem-Khim Wah will probably have a better shot at coming good in the German Open than the prestigious All-England.

In the German Open, they are seeded seven and are set to take on top seeds Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa of Japan in the quarter-finals. If they make it, they will meet either Indonesians Angga Pratama-Ryan Agung Saputra or Maneepong Jongjit-Nipitphon Puangpuapech of Thailand.

If all goes well without any major upsets, they may meet one of these pairs – second seeds Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong, England’s Chris Adcock-Andrew Ellis or Taiwan’s Lee Sheng-mu-Tsai Chia-hsin in the final.

It will be tougher in the All-England as the unseeded Malaysians have a tricky first round match against two-time All-England champions Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark.

“We were surprised when we saw the draw. This is the third time we will be meeting them this year. They are not an easy pair to beat,” admitted V Shem.

At the Korean Open, the Danish pair crushed the Malaysians in straight games in the quarter-finals. However, at the Malaysian Open, the duo exacted sweet revenge by beating the Danes in a rubber game in the opening round.

“We have been drawn to face them in the first round. They have done quite well in the All-England and they will be the favourites. We however, promise to give a better showing. I do not want to suffer another first round defeat in the All-England.”

In fact, V Shem is motivated to end the country’s seven-year wait for a title in the All-England. National No. 1 Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong were the country’s previous winners in 2007.

“The training has been good and we are focused on it. Khim Wah has also been getting proper treatment for his wrist injury. We are motivated to bring honour to the country,” he added.

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