Kuala Lumpur: Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying who were fresh off their Thailand Masters champion last Sunday, carrying their remarkable momentum that saw them defeated Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue of France 21-13, 21-14 in the first round of Malaysia Masters on Wednesday.
“Our opponents were not strong today, therefore, we were just trying to get used to the atmosphere and finding little rhythms from the match,” said Chan.
They will play Lu Kai/Chen Lu of China on Thursday.
In another mixed doubles first round matches that took place at the Axiata Arena on Tuesday, Malaysia’s Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai produced a strong display to tame Hong Kong’s Chang Tak Ching-Ng Wing Yung 23-21, 21-14.
Goh/Lai will take on Takuro Hoki/Wakana Nagahara of Japan on Thursday.
Speaking to reporter, Goh/Lai admitted that they did feel the pressure to be No. 1 mixed doubles pair in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) after Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying left the organization earlier this year.
“We can definitely feel the pressure being the top pair in the national team,” said Lai.
“However, we are still learning because we have only been partnering for 3 years, compared to Peng Soon/Liu Ying who have been playing together for long time.”
“Nevertheless, this is a new challenge and new experience for us. We’ll gradually get used to it,” added Shevon Jemie Lai.
Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying are Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai’s quarterfinal foes should their seeds hold that far, then a semifinal showdown with No. 1 seeds Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino of Japan looms for either of the Malaysian pair.
Two other Malaysian mixed doubles pair, including Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing and Chen Tang Jie/Peck Yen Wei were both knocked out in the first round on Tuesday.
Tan/Lai continued to struggle when they lost to England’s husband and wife pair, Chris Adcock/Gabrielle Adcock 22-20, 11-21, 15-21 while Chen Tang Jie/Peck Yen Wei were sent packing by Japanese pair Yuki Kaneko/Misaki Matsutomo 18-21, 12-21 in 28 minutes.
