Time to bounce back: Goh Soon Huat (top) and Shevon Lai Jemie are out of the top 10 and had also been dropped from the Road to Gold (RTG) programme in October.
PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie attempted a daring run of eight back-to-back tournaments towards the end of last year in order to regain their top 10 status in the mixed doubles but it backfired.
Burnt out from the experience, Soon Huat-Shevon will change their approach this year but will still aim for the same goal.
Soon Huat-Shevon’s attempt was understandable as the pair were out of the top 10 and had also been dropped from the Road to Gold (RTG) programme in October.
Ranked as high as world No. 6 in June, they dropped to No. 11 by October and thus lost the privileges of RTG and the duo went on a competition marathon, in the risk of even getting injured.
Their odyssey began with the Asiad in September where they played seven more – Arctic, Denmark, French and Hylo Opens in Europe and the Masters in South Korea, Japan and China – for eight consecutive weeks in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) tour.
All in, they had competed in an astonishing 26 tournaments last year and were fortunate not to suffer serious injuries despite undergoing such a hectic schedule.
However, with only a semi-final to show (Korean Masters), Soon Huat-Shevon are wiser as they approach the Olympic qualifying period with a more manageable schedule where they are looking at 11 tournaments in four months.
They have to produce quality performance in order to improve their ranking.
“Our priority this year is not just qualifying for the Olympics but also return to the top 10 again. We have fallen quite a bit in our ranking and we need to work our way up,” said the 30-year-old Shevon.
“It’s not impossible actually to achieve our goals, but we need to work smarter and support each other.
“Last year was very challenging as we decided to play eight tournaments in a trot. It was a new experience.
“It was not easy because the younger pairs were coming up. With so many back-to-back events, the young ones will have a better advantage as they are fitter and stronger physically.
“Obviously, I don’t think we have to play in that many tournaments this year.”
Soon Huat, 33, said the Olympic dream is still very much achievable although world No. 9 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei are in a strong position to claim Malaysia’s Olympic spot in the mixed doubles.
“The most important thing at this stage is to stay injury-free and our condition is good. We are left with 11 tournaments in the remaining qualifying period and that is sufficient,” said Soon Huat.
“The hectic schedule last year didn’t bring the desired results. We are a year older and we need to tone down.”
The independent pair’s first tournament will be the Malaysian Open starting on Tuesday where they will begin their campaign against England’s Gregory and Jenny Mairs.
