Soon Huat-Shevon use own funds to train under Olympics champ Candra in Jakarta

Great hosts: (From left) Candra Wijaya, Felix Djimin and wife Greysia Polii, Shevon, Soon Huat and Caroline (Candra’s wife).

PETALING JAYA: Independent shuttlers Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie are the breed of players who will go the extra mile to improve their careers.

That’s why the world No. 13 mixed doubles pair Soon Huat-Shevon have literally flown thousand of miles away from home to train under the guidance of Olympic Games men’s doubles champion Candra Wijaya in Indonesia to beef up their preparation for the German Open in Mulheim from March 8-13 and the All-England in Birmingham from March 16-20.

In fact, they have started training at the Candra Wijaya International Badminton Centre since Jan 18 and even sacrificed the Chinese New Year celebration at home to go through the drills in Jakarta.

“We have decided to train here on a short-term basis before we leave straight to Europe. It’s a big change for us,” said Shevon via a phone interview.

Soon Huat-Shevon had benefited from on-court coaching by Candra during the Indonesian Masters, Indonesian Open and World Tour Finals last year, through an arrangement made by their former sponsor Metamorphosis Medic Sdn Bhd, but it was too short to see an impact.

This time, Soon Huat-Shevon have decided to fund their own trip and undergo a full-time gruelling training at Candra’s academy.

“It’s like going back to full-time training in BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) but the intensity is higher here even though it’s a club,” said Shevon.

“We have two sessions per day and he focuses on our physical condition. We stay at the academy’s hostel.

“Sometimes, we play against some of the former internationals like Ricky Karanda (who was once ranked seventh in the world in the men’s doubles with Angga Pratama).

“We have to pay from our own pocket money to have this privilege of training under an Olympics champion. Currently, we don’t have any sponsors except for Victor.

“We are hoping that this short stint will help us to win at least a medal in Europe.”

Shevon said Candra, who formed a lethal partnership with Tony Gunawan that saw them win gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 1997 Glasgow World Championships, 1998 Bangkok Asian Games, and three Thomas Cup editions, is a task master.

“He is tough on court. He is dedicated, responsible and a strong-willed person. He will get things done no matter how hard it is.

“He’s always pushing and motivating us,” she said.

“Off court, he is a humble man. He is so talented, skilful and has won so many titles but he does not talk about it. He is so down to earth, and he takes us out for meals and we hang out too.”

Shevon said they had also spent time with Olympics champion Greysia Polii, who won the women’s doubles at the Tokyo Games with Apriyani Rahayu.

“It has been a fulfilling time in Indonesia so far. We are away from home but we hope all this sacrifice will bring us good results.”

Soon Huat-Shevon’s previous best result since turning professional is reaching the semi-finals of the 2020 World Tour Finals, which was held in Bangkok in January last year, and a quarter-final finish at the World Championships in Spain last December.