KUALA LUMPUR: Not every defeat should be viewed negatively.
For mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie, their All-England quarter-final exit against China’s Jiang Zhenbang-Huang Dongping yesterday was not just about the loss, but also about gaining valuable experience.
Although the 21-18, 8-21, 10-21 scoreline suggests a significant gap, the husband and wife duo saw it as an important lesson, especially against a newly paired Chinese combination.
In fact, Soon Huat-Shevon saw it as an opportunity to compete at the highest level, recognising that facing world-class opponents was a rare privilege.
They even managed to take control of the match before Zhenbang-Dongping mounted a comeback to turn the tide in their favour.
“Actually in the first match we started off strongly and I think the opponents, they did really well in the second and third coming back,” said Shevon.
“They got control of the game. But I think the one good thing that we have taken from this match is I think we both really enjoyed the match.
“Playing at this high level, this high intensity, it’s actually quite hard to get.
“Sometimes even during training you might not get the same. So it’s always a good fight, good challenge during tournaments. Especially against such strong pairs.
“Although we have lost quite bad, I wouldn’t say badly, but the points aren’t as what we expected. But I’m still very happy for us both,” said Shevon.
Despite some cynicism surrounding their elimination as the top seeds, Soon Huat-Shevon saw it as an honour to compete in such a prestigious tournament with that status, something they never expected to achieve.
“Actually, coming here and looking at the draw, we knew it was going to be tough. We had a challenging first round, followed by another difficult second, and the quarter-final match was a bigger test.
“But it was an honour to enter this tournament as the first seeds. I don’t think opportunities like this come by easily. We truly enjoyed the experience,” said Soon Huat.
After their disappointment in Birmingham, Soon Huat-Shevon will travel to Basel next week to defend their title in the Swiss Open, where they will once again play as the top seeds.
RESULTS
QUARTER FINALS
Men’s singles: Li Shifeng (Chn) bt Lakshya Sen (Ind) 21-10, 21-16; Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt Loh Kean Yew (Sin) 21-18, 21-16.
Women’s doubles: Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand (Ind) 21-14, 21-10; Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida (Jpn) bt Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah (Mas) 21-17, 21-19.
Mixed doubles: Jiang Zhenbang-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jamie (Mas) 21-18, 8-21, 10-21; Lee Jong-min-Chae Yu-jung (Kor) bt Gregory Mairs-Jenny Mairs (Eng) 21-19, 21-14; Guo Xinwa-Cheng Fanghui (Chn) bt Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) 14-21, 21-10, 21-17; Feng Yanzhe-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Rehan Kusharjanto-Gloria Widjaja (Ina) 21-10, 21-14.
SECOND ROUND
Men’s singles: Alex Lanier (Fra) bt Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) 22-20, 21-5; Wang Tzu-wei (Tpe) bt Anders Antonsen (Den) 21-10, 21-13; Kenta Nishimoto (Jpn) bt Lin Chun-yi (Tpe) 21-10, 21-18; Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt Chou Tien-chen (Tpe) 21-11, 21-19; Loh Kean Yew (Sgp) bt Angus Ng Ka Long (Hkg) 21-15, 21-17; Lakhsya Sen (Ind) bt Jonatan Christie (Ina) 21-13, 21-10; Li Shifeng-Toma Popov Junior (Fra) 21-18, 17-21, 21-15; Lee Chia-hao (Tpe) bt Yushi Tanaka (Jpn) 21-18, 21-8.
Men’s doubles: Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan (Tpe) bt Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (Eng) 23-21, 23-21; Kang Min-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju (Kor) bt Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto (Ina) 21-18, 25-27, 23-21; Xie Haonan-Zeng Weihan (Chn) bt Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind) 21-16, 2-2 (rtd); Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae (Kor) bt Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (Mas) 21-16, 21-13; He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu (Chn) bt Peeratchai Sukphun-Pakkapon Teeraratsakul (Tha) 21-11, 21-18; Liu Kuang-heng-Yang Po-han (Tpe) bt Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard (Den) 21-15, 21-16; Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza (Ina) bt Huang Di-Liu Yang (Chn) 21-6, 21-18; Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana (Ina) bt Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin (Ina) 21-19, 21-17.
Women’s singles: Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Putri Wardani (Ina) 21-14, 24-22, 21-10; An Se-young (Kor) bt Kirsty Gilmour (Sco) 21-12, 16-21, 21-8; Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) bt Zhang Beiwen (US) 21-18, 10-21, 21-17; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Malvika Bansod (Ind) 21-16-21-13; Han Yue (Chn) bt Kim Ga-eun (Kor) 14-5 (rtd); Gregoria Mariska (Ina) bt Sim Yu-jin (Kor) 21-18, 21-19; Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) bt Chiu Pin-chian (Tpe) 21-13, 21-7; Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Hsu Wen-chi (Tpe) 21-11, 21-16.
Women’s doubles: Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Febriana Kusuma-Amalia Pratiwi (Ina) 21-12, 19-21, 21-16; Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) bt Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) 21-18, 21-18; Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah (Mas) bt Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti (Ina) 21-16, 21-14; Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand (Ind) bt Kim Hye-jong-Kong Hee-yong (Kor) 15-21, 21-18, 21-18; Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Benyapa Aimsaard-Nuntakarn Aimsaard (Tha) 21-6, 21-19; Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) bt Francesca Corbett-Jennie Gai (Usa) 21-16, 21-18; Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida (Jpn) Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva (Bul) 21-14, 21-19; Li Yijing-Luo Xumin (Chn) bt Hsieh Pei-shan-Hung En-tzu (Tpe) 21-7, 21-14.
Mixed doubles: Gregory Mairs-Jenny Mairs (Eng) bt Ruttanapak Oupthong-Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat (Tha) 21-19, 21-16; Lee Jong-min-Chae Yu-jung (Kor) bt Yang Po-hsuan-Hu Ling-fang (Tpe) 21-17, 21-13; Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) bt Chen Cheng-kuan-Hsu Yin-hui (Tpe) 19-21, 21-17, 21-14; Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui (Chn) bt Ki Dong-ju-Jeong Na-eun (Kor) 21-12, 21-14; Rehan Kusharjanto-Gloria Widjaja (Ina) bt Jesper Toft-Amalie Magelund (Den) 21-16, 20-22, 21-12; Jiang Zhenbang-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Lu Ming-che-Hung En-tzu (Tpe) 21-13, 21-17; Feng Yanzhe-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Rohan Kapoor-Gadde Shivani (Ind) 21-10, 21-12; Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jamie (Mas) Alexander Dunn-Julie Macpherson (Sco) 21-9, 21-10.
