Tough foes: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie went down to China’s Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping in the quarter-finals.
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttlers Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie were made to rue another missed opportunity to overcome China’s world No. 1 Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping in the Indian Open quarter-finals.
The world No. 10 independent pair fought valiantly against Yanzhe-Dongping but it was not enough to get their first win over the latter as they went down 19-21, 21-19, 18-21 in 75 minutes at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi yesterday.
Shevon was left frustrated after losing for the fifth time to their formidable opponents.
“It’s definitely frustrating because it looks like you are able to win and then you end up losing it like that,” said Shevon in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“We have been through quite a few matches like that. There have been even tougher matches when we were leading and holding match point but could not finish it off.
“It’s just sports for us. It can go any way. For us, we have been through this quite a few years and it still hurts every time we lose like this.”
Despite the disappointment of missing out on the semi-finals, Shevon chose to look at the positives after finding some form with Soon Huat again following a tough start to the year in the Malaysian Open.
The 32-year-old was struck down by food poisoning in Malaysia and struggled physically as she and Soon Huat, 35, went down to Americans Presley Smith-Jennie Gai in the second round.
“It’s been quite a good week for us here. Last week, I was sick, so I’m happy that I could recover and perform better,” said Shevon.
“Definitely, this week has given me a lot to learn and a lot to takeaway for the coming weeks and months.
“We are still trying improve both our consistency and get ourselves into better condition as we are trying to recover from the past season.”
Soon Huat-Shevon will next compete in the Indonesian Masters starting on Tuesday in Jakarta.
