Another breakthrough: Malaysia’s Shevon Lai Jemie and Goh Soon Huat in action during their quarter-final match against China’s Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie are out to end the country’s nine-year wait for a mixed doubles finalist in the Malaysian Open.
Yesterday, world No. 6 Soon Huat-Shevon stormed into the semi-finals after outplaying China’s world No. 11 Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi 21-15, 22-20 in a thrilling 47-minute quarter-final match at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
It was a significant milestone as they became the first Malaysian mixed doubles pair in six years to reach the semi-finals of this home tourney.
The last pair to achieve this feat was another mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing in 2019.
Having already etched their names in history as the first Malaysian mixed doubles pair to win the Malaysian Masters in seven years last year, Soon Huat-Shevon are eager to make another breakthrough.
They aim to emulate the success of another mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, who were the last Malaysian mixed doubles pair to reach the Malaysian Open final in 2016.
Shevon was thrilled with the win.
“We really wanted to make the final push, especially after experiencing the thrill of winning the Malaysian Masters last year,” said the 31-year-old Shevon.
“Even though that was a different tier of tournament, the crowd was almost the same and the feeling was electrifying.
“I really want to relive that incredible feeling and bring it back to the final here.”
Standing in their way to the final are Thailand’s newly-paired world No. 57 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran, who stunned France’s world No. 15 Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue 21-12, 14-21, 21-7 in another quarter-final match.
Shevon acknowledges the uphill battle ahead, as Dechapol-Supissara have been on an impressive run in the tournament, taking down higher-ranked opponents, including Taiwan’s world No. 21 Ye Hong-wei-Nicole Gonzales Chan and China’s Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (No. 2), on their way to the last four.
“We have played against them (Dechapol-Supissara) twice and our head-to-head record is 1-1,” said Shevon.
“They have been performing very well here, with solid, fast, and accurate play throughout this tournament.
“We all know that Dechapol is not only a strong player, but also smart.
“He and his new partner are on the rise, playing fearlessly with nothing to lose.
“This fearless style of playing is the scariest, so we need to be really prepared, both physically and mentally.
“They are also familiar with our game because we trained together before (last year).
“This means we will have to be extra smart when we step onto the court tomorrow (today),” she added.
