Never back down: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie are bent on doing their best at the World Championships despite the shortcomings.
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttler Shevon Lai Jemie will not let early hiccups derail her chance to do well with partner Goh Soon Huat in her fifth World Championships.
Shevon-Soon Huat and a few independent players had arrived in Copenhagen on Thursday but all had not been well.
They were faced with several logistical issues that led to Shevon venting out her frustrations on her social media in regards to poor arrangement by the organisers of the World Championships.
Being a regular host of events, Shevon had expected everything to be done in a professional manner but it was too bad that the team encountered a slew of issues, including difficulties in checking into hotel and travelling to and from the stadium to practice courts.
The others who went through similar experiences were another mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing and men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia.
“While it is disappointing, Soon Huat and I will not allow it to affect our game here,” said Shevon.
“It’s just not us but a few countries faced the same issues. Although I was quite upset with it, I will just have to accept it as some normal daily issues. The focus is still on giving our best on court.
Shevon just can’t fathom it could go all wrong – especially for those players who had travelled for hours just to reach Copenhagen.
“Seriously and honestly, this is a terrible arrangement from the organiser for such a major event,” said Shevon.
“We had to wait for almost an hour yesterday (on Thursday) for our hotel check-in because we did not have the hotel booking from the organiser.
“Today (yesterday) we waited for the bus according to the schedule given but no bus came...
“I have to call the main office or ask for a contact number to call whenever we face an issue.
“However, the number provided does not belong to the right person and I had to be connected from one call to another.
“There was not even one official on standby to assist the players or team.
“I am not asking for premium care, but since this is the official hotel or organisation, the least they can do is provide us with a proper contact person if anything comes up.”
Seeded 10th, Soon Huat-Shevon have received a first-round bye and will face either Bulgaria’s world No. 77 Iliyan Stoynov-Hristomira Popovska or world No. 81 Jonathan Solis-Diana Corleto Soto of Guatemala in the second round.
It will be their first meeting with either pair but they should have no trouble clearing their second round hurdle.
The duo’s first big test could come in the third round against China’s world No. 7 Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin, as they lost 17-21, 21-19, 17-21 to the China pair in their only previous meeting at the Swiss Open in March.
National pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also received a first-round bye while Kian Meng-Pei Jing will open their campaign against Maldives’ Hussein Zayan Shaheed-Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq, who do not have a world ranking.
