PROFESSIONAL mixed doubles duo, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie became the first Malaysian pair to reach the Malaysia Open semi-finals since Tan Kian Meng-Lai Peijing in 2019.
In the quarter-finals edition today, in Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, here, Soon Huat-Shevon started strong, cruising to a 21-15 win in the first set.
However, the second set proved to be a tougher challenge for the fourth seeds who had to fend off a late comeback from their seventh-seed opponents.
With the score tied at 20-20, they regrouped and held their nerve to secure a 22-20 victory, sealing their semi-final spot in 47 minutes and third win after five encounters against the world number 11 pair.
Commenting on the match, Shevon said she was pleased with their performance and glad to reach their first ever Malaysia Open semi-final.
“Very happy and honoured to enter the semi-final on home ground. Here we have our families and fans and we will fight for Malaysia,” she told reporters when met at the mixed zone today.
In the semi-final tomorrow, Soon Huat-Shevon will face Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran from Thailand who beat France pair, Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue 21-13, 14-21, 21-7.
Shevon acknowledged the rise of Thailand’s new combination which enjoyed swift success since being paired in Oct last year, clinching two titles in 2024 – the Kumamoto Masters Japan in November and the Syed Modi India International in December.
“We have met them twice and the score is 1-1. But their performance appeared very solid and more scary. So we have to really prepared mentally and physically,” she said.
Malaysia would have a chance to have second pair in the last four when national top duo and third seeds Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei play Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito, later today.
