KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — Malaysia’s mixed doubles duo Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai kicked off their India Open campaign with a convincing win, advancing to the second round after defeating their Indonesian opponents.
The world No. 4 pair secured a straight-sets victory over unranked opponents Rinov Rivaldy and Lisa Ayu Kusumawati, winning 21-17, 21-17 in just 36 minutes, according to a report published today in Free Malaysia Today.
Despite a slow start in the first game, the husband-and-wife team regained momentum in the second to comfortably dispatch the unranked Indonesians, who were playing together for the first time.
Their win follows their semi-final exit at the Malaysia Open last week, as they aim for a strong finish in India.
Elsewhere, Malaysia’s mixed doubles team of Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien, ranked world No. 34, suffered an early exit.
They were defeated by Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Maya Taguchi in straight games, 21-17, 21-15. The unranked Japanese pair capitalised on numerous unforced errors to close out the match in 36 minutes.
In men’s singles, Leong Jun Hao pulled off a stunning upset by overcoming China’s world No. 6 Li Shi Feng in a hard-fought three-game match yesterday.
The world No. 28 rallied to a 18-21, 21-17, 21-17 victory against the reigning Asian Games gold medallist.
“I’ve never won even one game against him before, so this win means a lot to me,” Jun Hao said in an audio recording shared by the Badminton World Federation.
“He’s a tough opponent physically, but I stayed patient and did my best.”
Jun Hao is now preparing for his next challenge against China’s world No. 21 Weng Hong Yang in the second round, focusing on recovery before the tie.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s top mixed doubles duo Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei celebrated a career milestone after climbing to world No. 3 in the latest rankings.
“We are proud to achieve this ranking, but we will stay humble and hungry to win,” Tang Jie said in a statement shared by Bernama.
