PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie face a daunting task in their bid to match last season’s semi-final run at the Indian Open when they take on world No. 1 Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping in the quarter-finals today.
And they know that to overcome the Chinese pair, they must hit the ground running.
The Malaysian duo have yet to beat the Chinese pair in four encounters, and their most recent clash at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou went to the wire, 23-25, 21-11, 22-20.
And yesterday, their second-round win over Thailand’s SEA Games champions Ruttanapak Oupthong-Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat highlighted the danger of slow starts: dropping the first game 17-21 nearly cost them before they stormed back to take the next two 21-15, 21-6.
Shevon admitted that slow starts have been a recurring issue for them.
“That’s actually one of the issues both of us have been facing recently. We tend to start slowly in the first game as we try to get used to the opponent’s momentum and rhythm,” said Shevon in a post match interview with BWF.
“In that aspect, we need to get into the match faster and not give away the first game so easily. There are many factors involved, including the opponents’ game plan, tactics and also the overall conditions such as the drift and shuttle speed.
“I think both of us are a bit slow starters, so we just need to settle down quickly, start playing and enjoy the game. That way, we can get into the match much faster.”
If Soon Huat-Shevon manage to overcome Yanzhe-Dongping, it would also serve as sweet revenge for their teammates Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing, who were knocked out by the Chinese pair 21-18, 17-21, 10-21 in the second round yesterday.
Jimmy felt lapses in concentration at crucial moments proved costly against the Chinese duo.
“Maybe at the crucial points we did not focus enough. They forced us into making errors and that is because they are still among the best in the world, so they have that level. It is definitely tough to play against them because their game puts a lot of pressure on you,” said Jimmy.
Pei Jing, meanwhile, took positives from the defeat and said the experience would help them improve.
“Before the match, Jimmy had an analysis session with the coach, and from my side I just focused on doing my part to help the team.
“For today’s match, we are quite satisfied with our performance even though we lost. I think both of us learned a lot from the match,” added Pei Jing.
