KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian men's doubles pairs can expect tough encounters with India's world No. 9 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty now that Tan Kim Her has returned as their coach.
Kim Her, 52, a former national doubles player and a coach at the BA of Malaysia, has rejoined the BA of India (BAI) for his second stint, having spent five years there between 2015-2019.
During that period, Kim Her was credited with pairing Satwiksairaj-Chirag and transforming them into world-beaters.
The duo went on to achieve greatness, including becoming world No. 1.
Kim Her then took up a fresh challenge with Japan, where he enjoyed a successful five-year spell until 2024.
He notably guiding Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi to become Japan's first men's doubles world champions in 2021.
Satwiksairaj-Chirag are eager to reunite with Kim Her as they look to bounce back in 2025 following a disappointing Paris Olympics campaign, where they reached only the quarter-finals before losing to Malaysia's Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
However, the pair didn't fare too badly on the World Tour, clinching two titles — French Open and Thailand Open — and finishing runners-up at the India Open and Malaysia Open.
In an interview with the Times of India, Kim Her, who replaced Denmark's Mathias Boe, said: "I came back to complete some unfinished work."
Kim Her's return to India signals potential challenges for top Malaysian pairs, including world No. 3 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin and world No. 5 Aaron-Wooi Yik, given the threat Satwiksairaj-Chirag could pose.
During his tenure with Japan, Kim Her maintained an impressive record against his compatriots.
His charges Hoki-Kobayashi, dominated eight out of ten matches against Malaysia's Aaron-Wooi Yik and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, also holding superior head-to-head records of 3-1 against Sze Fei-Izzuddin and 2-0 against Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, respectively.
It appeared Kim Her had already set his sights on returning to India, as evidenced by his analysis of Satwiksairaj-Chirag's defeat to Aaron-Wooi Yik in Paris.
"At that stage, it depends on how well you are on that day. The Malaysians were too good on the front court that day. Satwik-Chirag were not able to execute their plans at the net," Kim Her said.
"There is little difference between the top pairs in the world. You need to work out different game plans for each team.
"I have some plans in mind and I thought it's time to implement them. I am excited for Satwik-Chirag. They are doing quite well now."
Apart from their record against Aaron-Wooi Yik, Satwiksairaj-Chirag have performed exceptionally well against other Malaysian rivals, holding 6-1 and 3-0 advantages over Izzuddin-Sze Fei and Wei Chong-Kai Wun respectively.
The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and Hangzhou Asian Games gold medallists have recently found success against Aaron-Wooi Yik after initially losing eight consecutive matches.
They have won three of their last four encounters within the past 18 months.