Malaysia’s Goh Soon Huat - Shevon Lai Jemie in action for mixed double semi-final match against Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh - Supissara Paewsampran at the Malaysia Open 2025 at Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie were left to rue after missing the golden opportunity to end the country’s nine-year wait for a mixed doubles finalist in the Malaysian Open.
Yesterday, the world No. 6 Soon Huat-Shevon found Thailand’s new pair world No. 57 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran too hot to handle and went down fighting 21-17, 12-21, 16-21 in the semi-finals at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
Shevon was disappointed that they could not emulate the achievement 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.
“We feel sad because we wanted to win (the match) for Malaysia... not just 100 per cent, but 200 per cent,” said Shevon.
“This is a good chance... one that is hard to come by. We gave everything on the court and it has been a good run for us this week.”
Despite the defeat, Soon Huat-Shevon can take heart from their performance against the formidable Thai pair, who proved their mettle by claiming the scalps of higher-ranked players – Taiwan’s world No. 21 Ye Hong-wei-Nicole Gonzales Chan, China’s Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (No. 2) and Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue of France (No. 15) en route to the final.
Shevon admitted that her physical condition was not at its best.
“In the second game, they attacked faster and targeted me,” said Shevon.
“My defence and movement on court was slower in the second game and that put more burden on Soon Huat as he had to cover more.
“I have no choice as I needed to maintain the rallies despite not being at my best physically.
“I’m only 80 per cent recovered from my fever and need to get back to my maximum level.”
Looking ahead, Shevon is determined to improve physically in order to put up a better fight in future matches against Dechapol-Supissara.
“Personally, Dechapol is an all-rounder... he can play anywhere,” said Shevon.
“To overcome this, we need to be at our best.
“He is very prone to attacking the female player, so I have to be stronger in order to cope with them if we meet next time.”
Soon Huat-Shevon will now shift their focus to the Indian Open, where they will open their campaign against Indonesia’s Rinov Rivaldy-Lisa Ayu Kusumawati on Tuesday.
