Way to go: Men’s doubles Goh Sze Fei (right) and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani defeated Indonesia’s Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin 21-14, 24-22 in the China Open semi-final match.
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttlers Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie are out to fulfil their dream of capturing a World Tour Super 1000 title in the China Open today.
Soon Huat-Shevon though face a formidable challenge in the final today against world No. 3 home pair Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping.
The world No. 12 duo achieved a personal milestone when they reached their first ever Super 1000 final after beating homesters Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi 21-18, 21-18 at the Olympic Center Gymnasium in Changzhou.
It was sweet revenge for Soon Huat-Shevon after they lost twice to the Chinese pair in the Spain Masters in March and Japan Open last month.
It was a dream come true for Shevon after making it into three finals in one year with Soon Huat for the first time during their seven-year partnership and they are now out to crown their fine run with the biggest title in their career.
The husband and wife pairing had captured the Swiss Open in March and Malaysian Masters in May.
“It feels surreal to be in the final again this year. I think it’s a feeling that I have never experienced before to enter three finals in a year,” said Shevon in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“Such an unbelievable experience for us and I want to thank my partner today (yesterday). We kept it together, most importantly when we were trailing in the match.
“Although there were some miscommunication, we both managed to stay patient and understand and support each other.
“It’s a dream for me to be in a Super 1000 final and it means a lot to both of us.
“We have been playing together for about seven years and this is our first final at this level.
“I have told Soon Huat many times my dream is to reach the final one day and hopefully win the title,” added Shevon.
Soon Huat said: “We focused on our mindset today (yesterday). This is very important for us because once we lose focus, our game tends to become unstable.
“So, we were trying to keep that in our minds and focus on every point. That was the key to this win.
“We also did well during the crucial points. We were braver and more stable in our game.”
Soon Huat-Shevon know that they need to be on top of their game again in the final to deny Yanzhe-Dongping.
The Chinese pair booked their spot in the title match after ousting Indonesia’s Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emmanuelle 21-16, 21-15.
Based on the head-to-head records, Yanzhe-Dongping hold a slight advantage over Soon Huat-Shevon as they have defeated them in their only meeting so far in the All-England in March.
Meanwhile, independent men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani made it a great day for Malaysia when they also reached the final.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin defeated Indonesia’s Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin 21-14, 24-22 to set-up a title showdown against world No. 7 homesters He Jiting Ren Xiangyu.
It will be the world No. 12 pair’s third final this year after they finished runners-up in the Asian Championships in April and captured the Japan Open last month.
In the other match, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi’s hopes of making it an all-Malaysian final was dashed after they went down 18-21, 11-21 to Xiangyu-Jiting.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s doubles: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (Mas) bt Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin (Ina) 21-14, 24-22; He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu (Chn) bt Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (Mas) 21-18, 21-11.
Women’s singles: Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) bt Akane Yamaguchi 22-20, 21-15; Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Aya Ohori (Jpn) 21-15, 21-18.
Women’s doubles: Li Yijing-Luo Xumin (Chn) bt Jeong Na-eun-Kim Hye-jeong (Kor) 21-12, 21-14; Li Wenmei-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) bt Jia Yifan-Zheng Yu (Chn) 21-17, 22-20.
Mixed doubles: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (Mas) bt Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi (Chn) 21-18, 21-18; Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emmanuelle (Ina) 21-16, 21-15.
