Newlook: Mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai Jemie during their training session ahead of the Malaysian Masters at Axiata Aena in Bukit Jalil .—AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star.
KUALA LUMPUR: New hairstyle for good luck.
Mixed doubles shuttler Shevon Lai Jemie has cut her hair short and hopes the new style will bring her good luck.
Shevon will be attempting to defend her Malaysian Masters title with Goh Soon Huat in this year’s edition which gets underway on Tuesday (May 20) at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
"It’s not a new year yet, but I just felt like trying something different. I've had long hair for more than ten years now, so I thought it was time for a change," said Shevon after testing the courts with Soon Huat on Monday.
"Plus, the weather has been pretty hot lately, and it took a lot of effort to maintain the long hair. So, I decided to try something new.
"Like the Chinese believe, hopefully it helps get rid of all the bad luck and bring me good luck!
"I’m hoping this marks a fresh start and that we’ll have a good beginning here too," added Shevon.
World No. 3 Soon Huat-Shevon are currently the top ranked mixed doubles pair in the country and are Malaysia’s best bet in the event to win the title again.
Last year, the husband and wife duo memorably beat Indonesia’s Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas in the final to end the country’s six-year wait for a home champion.
Previously, Datuk Lee Chong Wei was the last Malaysian to win a title at home when he captured the men’s singles crown in the Malaysian Open in 2018 while mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing had been the last home winners in the Malaysian Masters when they triumphed in 2017.
While ending the drought remains one of Soon Huat-Shevon’s best moments in their careers, the pair believe that they will face a tougher task this time around to repeat their achievement.
The competition is set to be tougher due to the presence of China’s world No. 1 Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin and world No. 2 Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping this time.
Both pairs opted not to play in the tourney last year.
"Definitely, with the Chinese pairs playing this time, the level of the competition will be very high," said Shevon.
"And it’s not just the top two but also several other Chinese pairs are there as well.
"China have always had a solid team with great depth, skill, and strategy. Keeping up with them is a huge challenge."
Nevertheless, Soon Huat-Shevon remain motivated to try to capture their second title at home.
"Definitely, we’ll give it our very best and we really want to defend the title if possible," said Shevon.
"But we’re taking it one game at a time. If we look too far ahead or set the bar too high too soon, it can create unnecessary pressure and nerves on court.
"So we’ll just focus on each match and see how things go."
Soon Huat-Shevon will play Denmark’s world No. 21 Mads Vestergaard-Christine Busch in the first round.
Meanwhile, Malaysia will also be represented in the mixed doubles by Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin, Chen Tang Jie-Chan Wen Tse, Loo Bing Kun-Toh Ee Wei, Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien and Yap Roy King-Valeree Siow.
