KUALA LUMPUR — Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai came agonisingly close to becoming the first Malaysian doubles pair to win a Super 1000 title at the China Open but were defeated in the final today despite a strong start.
The world number 12 mixed doubles duo, who had been in impressive form throughout the tournament, lost 16-21, 21-14, 21-17 to China’s world number three, Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping, at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou.
Speaking to the Badminton World Federation (BWF), Shevon shared her mixed emotions after falling short of winning their maiden Super 1000 title in their first final appearance at this level.
“I’m feeling mixed emotions, but I am proud of how we played. Even though we didn’t win, we gave everything we had, especially Soon Huat, who covered so much of the court,” said Shevon, who also praised her husband and partner.
“Winning the first game gave us some confidence, but our opponents turned things around. By the third game, we were already trailing by a significant margin. However, we never gave up, and despite some miscommunication, we held it together,” she added.
Soon Huat, reflecting on their near victory, said that the experience has fuelled their motivation as they set their sights on the season-ending World Tour Finals in December.
“Our strong performance here at the China Open gives us a great chance of qualifying for the World Tour Finals. We’ll continue competing in a few more tournaments and shift our focus towards that event,” said Soon Huat, who together with Shevon are currently third on the Race to Finals standings.
Only the top eight players and doubles pairs will make the cut for the BWF flagship event.
Separately, Shevon credited China’s dominance in badminton to their high-quality training system and depth of talent.
“They have not just quantity, but also quality players in their pool. Because of this, they have a great training system.
“We knew it wouldn’t be easy today, especially after defeating two Chinese pairs earlier in the tournament. We expected them to come at us hard,” she remarked.
Soon Huat and Shevon have already enjoyed a successful season, winning titles at the Swiss Open and Malaysia Masters earlier this year.
En route to the final, they stunned world number two pair Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin in the quarter-finals, before defeating Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi in the semi-finals.
For their runner-up finish, Goh and Lai earned US$70,000 (RM294,000), while champions Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping took home a cool US$148,000 (RM622,000). — September 22, 2024