Raring for action: Shevon Lai Jemie and Goh Soon Huat cant wait to get into the fray with the aim of winning another title in front of the home fans. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: New year, new motivation.
The healthy rivalry with shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin is a huge motivation for Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jamie to continue their fine form in the mixed doubles in 2025.
Soon Huat, 34 and wife Shevon, 31 enjoyed a great 2024 and rose to No. 6 in the world rankings recently and are just one spot below world No. 5 Tang Jie-Ee Wei.
Meanwhile, Pang Ron-Su Yin progressed well last year and reached No. 20 in the world, adding depth to Malaysia’s mixed doubles.
Pros Soon Huat-Shevon, who captured the Malaysian Masters and Swiss Open titles last year and finished runners-up in the China Open, are hungry to maintain their strong performances and keep up with the younger pairs.
“Now, we have two other strong mixed pairs performing at the highest level and this is good for Malaysia,” said Shevon after a training session at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil yesterday ahead of the Malaysian Open which starts tomorrow.
“This healthy rivalry motivates us to maintain our form in training and tournaments. Keeping up with them is a good challenge for us.”
Shevon is aiming for a good start to the year in the home Open after a memorable outing at the Axiata Arena last time around.
She combined superbly with Soon Huat to end the country’s seven-year wait for a home winner in the World Tour Super 500 Malaysian Masters last May.
Recalling their triumph at home, Soon Huat said: “It felt amazing to win the title at home. There are other tournaments but standing on the highest podium at home is a special feeling.
Shevon said: “I can say it was electrifying. The crowd here was amazing. We felt very proud to win the title in front of the home fans, our family and friends.”
Soon Huat-Shevon face a bigger challenge to win the Super 1000 Malaysian Open title as no home mixed pair have captured the crown since Teh Kew San-Ng Mei Ling 60 years ago.
In recent times, Datuk Lee Chong Wei was the last Malaysian to claim the title in any category when he won in the men’s singles in 2018.
The tournament was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shevon though believes that the long wait could come to an end this time as she and Soon Huat are seeded fourth while Tang Jie-Ee Wei are the third seeds only behind top seeds China’s Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping and Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin.
“Not just me and Soon Huat but all of us stand a good chance, depending on how we perform,” said Shevon.
“The Chinese pairs are strong and there are a few good pairs coming up, who can give us tough matches.
“In this tournament, we will try to do our best and I hope that one of the Malaysian pairs can end the 60-year title drought.
“Having said that, I also want all the pairs to finish the matches safely without any injuries or accidents on court,” added Shevon.Soon Huat-Shevon will play Americans Presley Smith-Jennie Gai in the first round while Tang Jie-Ee Wei will face Taiwan’s Wu Hsuan-yi-Yang Chu-yun.
Another Taiwanese pair Ming Che-lu-Hung En-tzu stand in the way of Pang Ron-Su Yin, who will be making their debuts in the tourney.
