Sending good vibes
Soon Huat-Shevon showing good form in India ahead of All-England
PETALING JAYA: Rising mixed doubles stars Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie showed they are shaping up well ahead of their AllEngland debut.
Soon Huat-Shevon gave a rousing performance to reach the Indian Open quarter-finals by beating Shivam Sharma-Poorvisha S. Ram of India 21-10, 21-16 in 42 minutes in New Delhi yesterday.
They will take on the winners of the match between sixth seeds He Jiting-Du Yue of China and Nipitphon Phuangphuapet-Jongkolphan Kititharakul of Thailand.
Soon Huat-Shevon are the only mixed doubles pair left in the tournament following the exits of their seniors Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying crashed out in the opening round following a 21-12, 15-21, 15-21 defeat to Indonesians Praveen Jordan-Melati Daeva Oktavianti on Wednesday while Kian Meng-Pei Jing went down fighting 16-21, 21-15, 21-23 to homesters Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa of India.
World No. 13 Soon Huat-Shevon are preparing for the All-England in Birmingham from March 14-18.
Thanks to their steady rise in the world ranking, Malaysia will have three mixed doubles pairs in the All-England for the first time.
The other two are the 2017 runners-up Peng Soon-Liu Ying and national No. 1 and world No. 11 Kian Meng-Pei Jing.
National head coach Chin Eei Hui is brimming with pride over the fine form of Soon Huat-Shevon.
“Soon Huat-Shevon are reaping the benefits of their hard work, they are performing better than the other Malaysian pairs right now,” said Eei Hui.
“They’ve qualified for the All-England next month and for the first time, we’ll have three mixed pairs in Birmingham.
“I hope they’ll keep the momentum going by doing well in the last eight in India.”
Soon Huat-Shevon did well over the last two weeks by reaching the semi-finals of the Thailand and Malaysian Masters.
Said Shevon: “We’re learning in every tournament. We hope all these experiences will come in handy when we play in our first AllEngland. It’s a first for both Soon Huat and I and we’re so excited.”
Meanwhile, Malaysian challenge in the men’s singles are over with the defeats of Lee Zii Jia in the first round and Liew Daren in the second round.