Tough luck: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie react after losing to Denmark’s Mads Vestergaard-Christine Busch in the first round of the Malaysian Masters last month.
PETALING JAYA: A quiet holiday in Cameron Highlands could do the trick for mixed doubles shuttlers Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie to return on a high for the second half of a hectic season.
After going through a rollercoaster ride in the first six months, Soon Huat-Shevon are aiming for a more stable show for the rest of the season.
They have 11 tournaments lined up for them, which will start with the Japan Open from July 15-20 and China Open from July 22-27.
Shevon is appreciative of the short break with husband and few friends to shrug off physical and mental lethargy.
“The beginning of the year was good, but the last few tour stops weren’t so good. We’ve taken a short break last week to recuperate,” said Shevon.
They lost in the first round of the Malaysian Masters and reached the quarter-finals of the back-to-back Singapore and Indonesian Opens. They did well in January by reaching the semi-finals of the Malaysian and Indian Opens.
“We aim to return refreshed as we have a hectic start ... we’ll be playing in 11 tournaments in six months.”
“Our goal is to improve our ranking and put up a more consistent showing.”
The duo are ranked sixth in the world, lying three rungs below Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei. At one point, the professionals who train under coach Teo Kok Siang, were ranked as the country’s top pair.
Shevon said their main goal in the second half is to shine at the World Championships in Paris in August.
“Hopefully, we will make it a good one at this year’s worlds,” added Shevon.
They have featured in the world meet four times and their best was a quarter-final finish at the 2022 edition in Tokyo. At the last edition in Copenhagen in 2023, they crashed out in the third round.
