Soon Huat-Shevon hardly break a sweat in second round
IT was an easy day at work for seeded mixed doubles pairs Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying as they checked into the third round of the World Championships.
Seventh seeds Soon HuatShevon, still pumped up after winning the Singapore Open two weeks ago, blew away Jacco Arends-Selena Piek of Holland 21-13, 21-17 in the second round at the Youth Olympic Sports Park Arena yesterday.
They set up a rematch against Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnapa of India after losing to the duo in the quarter-finals of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.
Soon Huat-Shevon are eager to settle the score against the world No. 39, trained by former international Tan Kim Her.
“We're seeking a revenge after losing to them at the Commonwealth Games,” said Shevon.
“We may be ranked higher, but that doesn't make us the favourites. Seeding is just a number.
“But Soon Huat and I have been playing it solid since the Singapore Open. We're armed with enough confidence this week.”
Eighth seeds Peng Soon-Liu Ying are just one match from improving their previous third round achievement in Jakarta in 2015.
The Indonesian Open finalists outplayed Saurabh SharmaAnoushka Parikh of India 21-18, 21-11 to set up a last 16 clash against Marcus Ellis- Lauren Smith of England, the Commonwealth Games silver medallists.
“It was just a warm-up against the Indians, the real test starts when we meet Ellis and Smith. We haven't met them before, so we’ll be cautious,” said Peng Soon.
“They play a different style compared to England’s top pair Chris and Gabrielle Adcocks but they are just as good as them,” he added.
The challenge came to a disappointing end for Tan Kian MengLai Pei Jing when they lost 12-21, 15-21 to SEA Games gold medallists Dechapol PuavaranukrohSapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand.