No letting up: Shevon Lai Jemie and her partner Goh Soon Huat are using the time during training to improve their game.
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttler Shevon Lai Jemie is very much in the right mix when it comes to sports and studies.
The 27-year-old Shevon has to balance her precious time between completing a Sports Science degree at Universiti Malaya and making an impact on the badminton stage.
And Shevon is not going to throw in the towel as she is determined to graduate next year despite it being a hectic year with the postponements of several major tournaments.
The Olympic qualifying period will resume ahead of the Games in Tokyo in August. Then there are the World Tour Finals, World Championships, Sudirman Cup and Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.
Shevon, who is in the final year of studies, is taking it all in her stride.
“This is my seventh year, I’m trying to finish my studies. I have to do my final paper in December. Then, I will do my internship. I hope to graduate next year,” said Shevon.
“I’m taking longer than others because of my commitment to sports. Besides, every semester, I only take half of the subjects compared to the other students.
“I know it’ll be really tricky next year with a tight badminton schedule but I’ve managed it before, and I know I can handle both,” she said.
Shevon and partner Goh Soon Huat have a shot at qualifying for next year’s Olympics.
In the suspended Road to Tokyo ranking, they are 11th on the list, just four rungs below independent shuttlers Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying.
A country can have a maximum of two pairs if they are ranked in the top eight when the qualifying period ends.
While waiting for the season to resume, Shevon is determined to make her partnership with Soon Huat strong under the guidance of coach Paulus Firman.
“Soon Huat and I are both in good form now and enjoying the training under Paulus,” said Shevon.
Shevon and Soon Huat experienced different struggles over the last three months. Shevon could not report for training in June because she was down with dengue fever and when she recovered, Soon Huat suffered a back injury during the internal ranking tournament.
“Both of us want to make use of the time during training to improve our game. Paulus has already added some new elements into our game,” she said.
“We want to start the season next year strongly.
“We still have a chance and we want to give our all.”
With some tweaking in their game and the sheer determination to excel, their opponents had better be prepared to face a different Shevon-Soon Huat as they aim to hit the ground running when the season restarts next year.
The 27-year-old Shevon has to balance her precious time between completing a Sports Science degree at Universiti Malaya and making an impact on the badminton stage.
And Shevon is not going to throw in the towel as she is determined to graduate next year despite it being a hectic year with the postponements of several major tournaments.
The Olympic qualifying period will resume ahead of the Games in Tokyo in August. Then there are the World Tour Finals, World Championships, Sudirman Cup and Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.
Shevon, who is in the final year of studies, is taking it all in her stride.
“This is my seventh year, I’m trying to finish my studies. I have to do my final paper in December. Then, I will do my internship. I hope to graduate next year,” said Shevon.
“I’m taking longer than others because of my commitment to sports. Besides, every semester, I only take half of the subjects compared to the other students.
“I know it’ll be really tricky next year with a tight badminton schedule but I’ve managed it before, and I know I can handle both,” she said.
Shevon and partner Goh Soon Huat have a shot at qualifying for next year’s Olympics.
In the suspended Road to Tokyo ranking, they are 11th on the list, just four rungs below independent shuttlers Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying.
A country can have a maximum of two pairs if they are ranked in the top eight when the qualifying period ends.
While waiting for the season to resume, Shevon is determined to make her partnership with Soon Huat strong under the guidance of coach Paulus Firman.
“Soon Huat and I are both in good form now and enjoying the training under Paulus,” said Shevon.
Shevon and Soon Huat experienced different struggles over the last three months. Shevon could not report for training in June because she was down with dengue fever and when she recovered, Soon Huat suffered a back injury during the internal ranking tournament.
“Both of us want to make use of the time during training to improve our game. Paulus has already added some new elements into our game,” she said.
“We want to start the season next year strongly.
“We still have a chance and we want to give our all.”
With some tweaking in their game and the sheer determination to excel, their opponents had better be prepared to face a different Shevon-Soon Huat as they aim to hit the ground running when the season restarts next year.
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