Pushing the limits: Shevon Lai Jemie (right) and Goh Soon Huat in action against Indonesia’s Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emanuelle. — AP
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttler Shevon Lai Jemie gave a thumbs up to her husband and partner Goh Soon Huat for his never-say-die attitude on court.
Soon Huat hurt his ribs when he dived to save a shuttle in the third game but refused to throw in the towel and kept going with Shevon to come away with a hard fought 17-21, 21-15, 21-14 win over Indonesia’s world No. 13 Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emanuelle in their last Group B match in the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou yesterday.
With the victory, the world No. 10 independent pair joined fellow Malaysians Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei in the semi-finals in what was a historic day for Malaysia.
It’s the first time that Malaysia will have two pairs in the mixed doubles in the last four of the Finals.
Shevon was quick to credit her partner for the win.
“I have to salute Soon Huat. He dived to get the shuttle and hit his ribs and it will probably be a bit bruised,” said Shevon in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“His will to always go on is the strongest I’ve ever seen. The most important thing is we never gave up. We made some changes in our strategy (after losing the first game.
“We really supported one another and we did not let ourselves fall apart.”
Soon Huat-Shevon have turned around their form superbly after losing to world No. 8 Tang Jie-Ee Wei in three games in their opening group match.
The former revived their hopes by defeating Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito in two games in their second match.
Soon Huat-Shevon have now made it into the last four in the Finals for the second time after reaching the same stage in 2021 in Bangkok.
Shevon was happy to prove once again that independent players can also succeed in higher level events.
“We are definitely very happy as we never thought we will make it this far,” said Shevon.
“Looking at the draw initially, we knew we had a chance but we did not want to put too much expectations on ourselves as all the pairs here were strong.
“This means a lot to us as we did not have a good start in the tournament.
“The prize money will be a huge boost for us both. Everyone knows that as independent players, we need to source for our own funding.
Semi-finalists are assured of US$50,000.
“So, having a bit more prize money helps us along the way especially for next year’s planning. And this shows that independent players can do it as well.
“We hope this will give my teammates back home motivation that independent players can help each other as a team,” added Shevon.
Meanwhile, Tang Jie-Ee Wei maintained their 100 percent record in the tournament with a 21-17, 21-18 win over Midorikawa-Saito.
The pair, who also defeated Dejan-Gloria in straight games, have reached the semi-final for the first time in the tourney after not managing to get past the group stage in their debut last year.
Tang Jie said: “Although we won, in the middle of the match, we lost focus a bit and we need to improve on this.
“This win definitely boosts our confidence and we will rest well and prepare for tomorrow (today).”
A draw for the semi-finals, where only the group champions will be separated, will be done at the end of the group stage.
