PETALING JAYA: Professional mixed doubles ace Shevon Lai Jemie believes there are still crucial details to iron out before she agrees to train with the national shuttlers under the Road to Gold (RTG) programme.
While Shevon welcomed Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh’s proposal for joint training between the pros and Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) players ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, she stressed that clarity must come before commitment.
Shevon said she has not received any further information since the proposal was made two weeks ago.
“Actually, I just saw the news the other day and I have not heard anything so far from the coach,” said Shevon.
“So I’m not sure what the planning is like. All I can say at the moment is if we do get to train with them, it will be very good sparring, of course, for us because we have a good pair in BAM, and we have a very strong base.
“But coming from RTG, I’m not sure how things would go in the longer term because there will be a lot of questions, like how long this will last, whether we will be able to run it long term or if it will be just a short-term thing.
“If we are no longer in RTG, what will happen? Because then we will just be independent like the rest of the team. So yeah, I’m not expecting too much yet at the moment,” said Shevon.
Currently, Shevon and her partner, Goh Soon Huat, along with another men’s doubles pair, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, are among the independent badminton athletes in the RTG programme.
For now, Soon Huat-Shevon remain safe as they are ranked among the world’s top 10.
However, beginning next year, RTG athletes must rank inside the world’s top eight, with even stricter benchmarks set for 2027.
“Knowing that, our enthusiasm naturally rises. Fatigue can make it tough to push, but training with younger players gives us fresh motivation,” she said.
“It’s like running on a track, when there’s a faster runner ahead, you instinctively try to match their pace. That push helps us get through training.”
