Kuala Lumpur: Last week’s Thailand Masters mixed doubles champions Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying showed great resilience in the Malaysia Masters semi-final match against No. 1 seeds Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino of Japan, coming from losing the first set 15-21 to a sensational performance in the second set, leading 17-2 and went on to force the decider after claiming the second 21-7.
However, Goh Liu Yin looked tired in the second half of the decider and the Japanese pair continued to put pressure on her, forcing her to make several unforced errors and quickly scooped up points after points to eventually beat the Malaysian pair 21-14 in the third-set.
“We made several errors in the decider that allowed them to reel off several points consecutively, which affected our confidence,” said Goh.
When asked about how did they feel about Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino’s performance especially when they were being coached by their ex-coach – Jeremy Gan, Chan Peng Soon said the Japanese pair has become one of the world’s top pair.
“Tactically, they know how to play us precisely. We used to defeat them before, but, Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino have improved a lot and they are now one of the best mixed doubles pair in the world,” said Chan.
Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino will clash with No. 2 seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand on Sunday; while Chan/Goh will be getting ready for their next tournament at the Indonesia Masters that will be held from January 22 to January 27, 2019 in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, facing the World No. 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia, Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong of Malaysia saved 4 match points, but perhaps they need a little more luck on their side as they lost to the Indonesian pair 18-21, 22-24.
“They were very speedy. We played well today, but because they were so fast, we made some errors at the end of second set,” said Goh.
“We made some unforced errors, the points were very close, if we reduced our mistakes, we have a chance to beat them,” said Tan.
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo will face another Malaysian pair, Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi in the final.
