SINGAPORE – Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai gave everything they had today but their best was not good enough for them to book a place in the mixed doubles final of the Singapore Badminton Open.
Two mistakes by Shevon gave the two points needed by world champions Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand to grab a 22-20 victory in the deciding game of their semi-final match.
The Thai duo won the first game 21-17 before Soon Huat-Shevon forced the tie to a rubber with a 21-16 win.
Soon Huat-Shevon, winner of this event in 2018, gave a solid performance in their quest to book a place for a second final this season after the Swiss Open in March.
In the opening game, they fought point for point with the Thai pair, going 3-3, 9-9, 15-15 before Dechapol-Sapsiree stepped up a gear to win 21-17.
The second game was just as pulsating, with Soon Huat-Shevon eventually winning 21-16.
In the decider, it was also neck and neck, with the Malaysians levelling at 20-20 before Shevon crumbled when it mattered most.
“Our opponents did well. They were more aggressive and more stable in terms of game plan and consistency of shots,” said Shevon.
“On my part, I did not manage to calm down myself to place the shots. I made a few mistakes at the end,” she said.
The pair expressed their appreciation for the strong crowd support, as even some non-Malaysians were screaming the national chant “Malaysia Boleh!”
The two pairs last met at the Indonesian Open last month, where the Malaysians defeated the Thai pair in a first-round match although Soon Huat had not fully recovered from food poisoning.
Soon Huat-Shevon won 21-18, 7-21, 22-20 in 69 minutes in that match, which saw several stoppages in the final game as Soon Huat rushed to the sidelines several times for medical attention.
Today’s victory gave the Thai pair a 9-7 lead in their head-to-head clashes, which stretched back to their first meeting in the Thailand Open in 2017. – Bernama, July 16, 2022
