FAMILIAR FOES
Soon Huat-Shevon eye hat-trick of wins
NATIONAL mixed doubles Goh Soon HuatShevon Lai Jemie are on course for a hattrick win when they face teammates Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters today.
Soon Huat-Shevon reached the last eight yesterday after notching a 21-17, 21-15 win over South Korea’s Choi Solgyu-Chae Yoo Jung, while Kian Meng-Pei Jing saw off Indonesian duo Rinov Rivaldy-Angelica Wiratama 21-18, 21-12.
Just last week, Soon HuatShevon upset their World No 11 compatriots in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Masters, and before that at the Korea Open last September.
“Luck has it that we have to face Kian Meng-Pei Jing again. All I can say is may the best pair win,” said Shevon, when contacted in Jakarta.
On their recent rise in form, Shevon said: “We actually had the whole of December to prepare for the new season. I think that helped us a lot.
“Apart from sharpening our game, we also worked hard on improving our abilities on court. It’s good that our hard work is paying off.
“Of course, we cannot be complacent, because we will be facing tougher opponents in the future.”
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles second round, former world junior champion Goh Jin Wei was no match for World No 3 P.V. Sindhu of India.
Sindhu, the 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallist, wrapped up the match 21-12, 21-9 in just 31 minutes.
In the men’s doubles, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong, continued their winning ways when they beat Taiwan’s Lee Jhe Huei-Lee Yang 21-15, 16-21, 21-13.
The 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallists will face reigning world champions Liu ChengZhang Nan of China next for a place in the semi-finals.
It was, however, the end of the road for men’s doubles duo Chooi Kah Ming-Low Juan Shen who went down 21-11, 21-17 to fourth seeds Mads Conrad Petersen-Mads Pieler Kolding of Denmark.