Against the odds: Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai Jemie (left) powered into the mixed doubles semi-final of the Korean Masters yesterday.
PETALING JAYA: From darkness to light – that could be the best way to describe shuttler Shevon Lai Jemie’s journey over the last few months.
Shevon and her partner Goh Soon Huat have been struggling to find their footing since reaching the only final this year at the Swiss Open in March before finally making their presence felt in the Korean Masters in Gwangju.
They pulled off one of their biggest wins this year when they upstaged third seeds and one of the home favourites Kim Wan-ho-Jeong Na-eun 16-21, 22-20, 22-20 in a pulsating quarter-final match at the Gwangju National Women’s University yesterday.
They will face second seeds Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin of China in the semis today.
Shevon, who had even lost two kilos due to stress following the lack of results, said she had thought of giving up during the dark days.
“I cried, threw tantrums and I was furious. There was loss of appetite, loss of motivation, you name it ... I just wanted to let go of everything and leave the whole scene,” admitted Shevon.
“The disappointments were so overwhelming this last few months and I wanted to give up on so many occasions.
“I’ve lost two kilos ... a weight that I had not been in since 2016.”
Their erratic form also saw them being dropped from the Road to Gold programme and they are also out of the top 10 standing.
Ranked 14in the world, Shevon-Soon Huat needed one good result to show that their sacrifices as professionals were worth it and they achieved it in the Korean Masters.
“We needed this to help motivate us to perform better. The big win against the Korean pair at certainly gives us some confidence again after undergoing the low season recently,” said Shevon.
“The constant support we had for each other today made the difference. We kept reminding ourselves to believe and also to focus on our own strengths
“We have lost twice to the Chinese pair, but we will play like how we did today.
On their Paris Olympic Games chance, Shevon says they remained hopeful.
“Qualifying for the Olympics is our goal and dream, the hope is there. We’ve been having too many thoughts on too many occasions, and it seems to be spoiling the party. So we just want to focus on taking each match at a time,” she said.
“I’m able to keep going despite all the past challenge because of the support from those who still have faith in us. I want to thank God, my family, my partner and friends for standing by us,” she added.
It was also a good day for Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei as they made it to the semis after disposing of Chiu Hsiang-chieh-Lin Xiao-min of Taiwan 21-19, 21-17. They will face top seeds and reigning world champions Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yu-jung of South Korea next.
