Soon Huat-Shevon save the day for mixed doubles in Japan Open

KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttlers Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie saved Malaysia the blushes in the mixed doubles at the Japan Open in Tokyo.

Yesterday, the world No. 18 were the only Malaysians left standing in the mixed doubles after scoring an upset 21-14, 19-21, 21-19 win over world No. 16 Mathias Christiansen-Sara Thygesen of Denmark in 61 minutes on the opening day.

They will take on the winners of today’s match between Takuro Hoki-Sayaka HirotaKohei Gondo-Wakana Nagahara of Japan in the second round tomorrow.

It’s a good comeback from Soon HuatShevon after their shock loss to unheralded Marvin Emil Seidel-Linda Efler in Germany in the quarter-finals of last week’s Korean Open.

Said Shevon: “It’s good to beat a higher-ranked pair. It’s our first meeting against the Danes. Hopefully, we can be consistent.”

It was all over for Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing.

Peng Soon-Yee See went down 17-21, 17-21 to top seeds Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong of China in the first round. They also lost to the same pair in the Korean Open semi-finals.

It was a nail-biting opener for Kian MengPei Jing as they fought gallantly before losing 20-22, 21-23 to Thailand’s Bodin IsaraSavitree Amitrapai.

Other Malaysians involved in their respective opening matches today are Lee Chong Wei (men’s singles), Soniia Cheah (women’s singles), Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean (women’s doubles), Teo Ee Yi-Ong Yew Sin (men’s doubles) and two former internationals — Lim Khim Wah and Tan Boon Heong. Khim Wah will play with Korean Yoo Yeon-seong and Boon Heong plays with Hendra Setiawan.