Herculean mission
Soon Huat-Shevon aim to break into top 16 in the world
KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles shuttlers Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie have a mission to accomplish in the back-to-back Korean Open and Japan Open. And it’s a tough one.
The 27-year-old Soon Huat and Shevon want to break into the top 16 in the world.
To achieve that, world No. 18 Soon HuatShevon will have to upstage higher ranked players in the two Superseries tournaments in Seoul, starting today, and in Tokyo (from Sept 19-24).
“Our goal is to move into the top 16 by the end of the year, but we have a chance to pull it off even earlier,” said Soon Huat, who knows that there is a possibility of them making early exits in both tournaments.
They face Lee-yang-Hsu Ya-ching of Taiwan in the first round of the Korean Open. If they win, they are likely meet seniors and world No. 9 Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing in the second round.
Kian Meng-Pei Jing face Thailand’s Nipitphon Phuangphuapet- Jongkolphan Kititharakul in the first round.
In the Japan Open, Soon Huat-Shevon will meet Denmark’s Mathias Christiansen-Sara Thygesen in the opening round. If they clear the first hurdle, they will face second seeds and reigning world champions Zhang Nan-Li Yinhui of China next.
Although happy with their steady progress in the last one year, Soon Huat believes it’s time for them to raise the bar higher.
“We’ve never cleared the early rounds of a Superseries tournament. Hopefully, we can get it right in one of the two tournaments,” he said.
Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See are the other Malaysian mixed doubles pair involved in the Korean Open and Japan Open.