PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie face another stern test at the Indonesian Open when they take on home favourites Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu for a place in the quarter-finals today.
The husband-and-wife duo were made to work hard for their opening round victory yesterday, battling past Indonesia’s Rehan Kusharjanto-Gloria Widjaja 17-21, 21-16, 23-21 in a gruelling 71-minute match in front of a packed crowd at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta.
For Shevon, the win was especially significant after she and Soon Huat suffered a disappointing first round exit at the Singapore Open last week.
“I would like to commend our opponents because they (Rehan-Gloria) really gave us a good fight.
“They pushed us to our limits and we were definitely thrilled to win,” said Shevon in a post-match interview with the BWF.
The challenge does not get any easier for Soon Huat-Shevon as they prepare to face Jafar-Felisha.
The Malaysians have lost all three of their previous meetings against the Indonesian pair, with their most recent encounter coming at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou last December.
Also bidding for a place in the quarter-finals are Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing, who will take on last year’s runners-up Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran of Thailand.
Pang Ron-Pei Jing advanced after beating Indonesia’s Marwan Faza-Aisyah Salsabila 21-17, 21-9 in the opening round.
In the men’s doubles, Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing will face India’s Hariharan Amsakarunan-M. R. Arjun.
The former world junior champions received a fortunate break in the opening round after their opponents and Indonesian Open champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, retired from the match due to Satwiksairaj’s injury.
