KUALA LUMPUR – It was so near, yet out of reach for the independent mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie to clinch the Swiss Open title in Basel, today.
In the upset match against China’s rising star Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin, world No. 11 Soon Huat-Shevon lost the first set 17-21.
However, they fought their way into the second set to level the score, 21-19.
The China duo seemed too good of an adversary for the Malaysian badminton power couple, who were engaged in December, and sealed the deal in the third set, 21-17.
Midway through the third set, Soon Huat suffered a minor injury to one of his fingers on his left hand and had to call in the medic team to assist with the injury.
The Malaysian pair’s performance today would be their second time as runners-up in the same tournament when they lost against Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss-Isabel Lohau last year.
Soon Huat-Shevon were the only surviving Malaysian players to reach the finals after men’s singles shuttlers Lee Zii Jia lost to Japan’s Koki Watanabe and men’s doubles pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi lost to India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in the semifinals yesterday. – The Vibes, March 26, 2023