Great start: Shevon Lai Jemie and Goh Soon Huat taking a wefie with fans after their first-round win at the Malaysian Open. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Has the Malaysian Open’s schedule as the season opener of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) calendar taken a toll on some of the world’s top players, particularly from Malaysia, leading to their early exits?
Seasoned mixed doubles player Shevon Lai Jemie thinks so.
“Maybe it does have an effect. My last tournament last year was the World Tour Finals (in Hangzhou, December), and I only had a few weeks to prepare for a major event like this home tournament,” said Shevon after clearing the first round at Axiata Arena yesterday.
Shevon and her partner Goh Soon Huat were among a few Malaysian representatives who advanced to the second round, thanks largely to a good draw. They took only 36 minutes to beat United States’ Presley Smith-Jenny Gai 21-15, 21-19 yesterday.
They will face India’s K. Sathish Kumar-Aadya Variyath today for a place in the quarter-finals.
“Even though I had a few days of rest before returning for training, I do feel like I need a longer break,” said Shevon.
“Senior players like us need time to rebuild our momentum and perform on the court, and this part really affects us because it’s a challenge to keep up with the juniors.
“Additionally, this is a season opener tournament, and of course, we want to perform well. So, we have to find the best way to return to the court stronger.
“Looking at the tournament schedule now, I think it’s difficult (to reschedule to another time) because in a year, there are around 10 Super 1000 or Super 750 level tournaments.
“It’s hard to change the dates,” added Shevon.
Historically, before the Malaysian Open was upgraded to Super 1000 status in 2023, the tournament was typically held between April and June.
On the opening day, seven Malaysian players, including key figures like Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, Leong Jun Hao, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, crashed out on Tuesday.
Adding to the upsets, two time champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen also fell at the hands of Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu and Taiwan’s Wang Chi-lin-Chiu Hsiang-chieh respectively.
