In the reckoning
Chan and Goh on track for first medal in a world meet
JAYA: Independent mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying are staying cool despite the pressure on them to win their first-ever medal at the World Championships.
The world No. 5 showed calm and composure to set aside an early scare before overtaking Takuro Hoki-Wakana Nagahara of Japan 17-21, 21-13, 21-14 in a 63-minute match to advance to the quarter-finals.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying have made six appearances to date since their debut in 2009.
Their best achievement was last year when they reached the quarter-finals before losing to Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet in Nanjing, China.
They take on another Japanese pair but a more stronger pair in world No. 3 Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino in the last eight. If they win, they will secure a bronze.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying have a 4-2 advantage in the head-to-head record against Watanabe Higashino, winning their last meeting against the Japanese on their own home ground at the Japan Open last month.
Peng Soon was happy to clear the third round yesterday although there were some anxious moments.
“They were hard to play in the first game and put a lot of pressure on us,” said Peng Soon.
Both pairs had locked horns from the start of the opening game but the world No. 21 Hoki-Nagahara pulled through to take the opener.
Not deterred by the first-game loss, Peng Soon-Liu Ying stepped up and showed their experience as they comfortably swept aside their opponents in the next two games.
“We played with lots of expectation
to win this match because we wanted to maintain our performance by getting into the quarter-final again. We were hasty in the opening game but relaxed after the first-game defeat,” he said.
“It’s good to be back in the quarter-finals again but we don’t want to stay here, we want to do better and get into the semi-finals this time around.”
But Peng Soon knows that it will
take a herculean effort to beat the Japanese pair, who train under their former coach Jeremy Gan.
“We know them quite well as we have played them many times and it’s always very close, so we cannot take it for granted,” said Peng Soon.
“We defeated them at the Japan Open this year and we know they will want to get back at us, we’ll have to tread with caution. We’ve to be at our best.”
The last mixed doubles pair to win a medal for the country was Koo Kien Keat-Wong Pei Tty in 2006 in Madrid, Spain.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying are also Malaysia’s best hopes to win a medal at this year’s world meet.
Meanwhile, Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean square off against third seeds Misaki Matsutomoto-Ayaka Takahashi of Japan in the third round.