Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s World No. 18 mixed doubles pair, Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai described their victory in the Malaysian Masters as a partial consolation for not yet winning the Malaysian Open.
Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai secured their first Malaysia Masters title after defeating the third-seeded Indonesian pair, Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, 21-18, 21-19 in the final at Axiata Arena.
(Source: The Star)
Speaking to the media after the final, Goh Soon Huat said their dream since pairing up in 2016 has been to win the Malaysian Open.
He mentioned feeling envious watching other players stand on the podium at the Super 1000-level Malaysian Open, one of the top four tournaments in the BWF World Tour alongside the All England, China Open, and Indonesia Open.
“My dream is actually the Malaysian Open because every time during the tournament, I only see other country’s players winning and standing on the podium, so being able to do this at the Malaysian Masters is already enough to heal the disappointment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shevon Lai admitted that this victory is still meaningful after waiting so long to play in a home final since they last won the Malaysian International Challenge in 2016.
“Winning the Swiss Open in March was the sweetest moment because before that we reached the final twice but only won on the third attempt.
“The feeling of winning the Malaysian Masters is different… seeing the supporters cheering for us, plus having my parents present at Axiata Arena, makes it very meaningful because it happened in our own country,” said Lai.
After missing out on a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai are now aiming to qualify for the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China, this December.
“The World Tour Finals is the only thing left for us to qualify for (after failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics), so it’s our main target.
“We need to further improve our performance and continue playing well in the remaining tournaments this year,” said Goh Soon Huat.
Currently, Goh/Lai are ranked sixth in the qualification for the World Tour Finals. Only the top eight pairs qualify for the season-ending tournament.
The success of winning the Malaysian Masters this time is considered a meaningful wedding gift for the husband and wife pair, who got married on May 4th.
This achievement also ended the wait for a national mixed doubles pair to win the Malaysian Masters since the last victory by the pair Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing in 2017.
The pair will next compete in the Singapore Open starting coming Tuesday.
In women’s doubles final, No. 1 seeds Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi of Japan overcame Lee Yu Lim/Shin Seung Chan of Korea 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 while Wang Zhiyi of China defeated PV Sindhu 16-21, 21-5, 21-16 in the women’s singles final.
