KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie are determined to put last year’s disappointment behind them as they chase a deeper run at the prestigious All-England.
As the tournament’s top seeds, they have a golden opportunity to reach the quarter-finals when they take on Scotland’s world number 33 pair, Alexander Dunn-Julie Macpherson, in the second round today.
Although this will be their first meeting, Soon Huat-Shevon hold the advantage not only in rankings as they are currently world number three but also in confidence after a spirited 22-20, 9-21, 21-18 victory over Malaysian Open champions Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran of Thailand in the opening round yesterday.
“Looking at the draw when we first got it, we had mixed feelings. We wanted to face strong opponents because it would help us improve, identify our weaknesses, and see what we needed to work on. But at the same time, we didn’t want to meet a tough opponent in the first round of such a prestigious tournament.
“So we had to prepare ourselves well, knowing that mental strength was the most important factor.
“Facing them, we had to give our all and be fully ready,” said Shevon in a post match interview with Badminton World Federation (BWF).
If they succeed, it will be a significant achievement as their last appearance in the All-England quarter-finals was in 2019, marking their best run in the prestigious tournament.
Last year, their campaign ended in the second round with a 12-21, 5-21 defeat to China’s Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping.
Reflecting on their first-round match, Soon Huat-Shevon admitted it was far from easy, as the Thai pair remained formidable opponents.
They had previously halted Soon Huat-Shevon’s progress in the Malaysian Open semi-finals in early January.
“In the first game, I had to stay focused and keep calm. I knew I couldn’t rush or be impatient. If you lose patience and start forcing the game, they will take advantage and score easy points. In the second game, we made the mistake of rushing, trying to finish points too quickly. That cost us, and we lost that game quite easily.
“In the third game, we reminded each other to stay composed, not get ahead of ourselves, and focus on every single point. That helped us settle down and regain control,” Shevon added.
