KUALA LUMPUR: World No 15 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai are eager to turn the tables on their nemeses Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong as they seek to reach a third World Tour semi-final appearance of the season at the Singapore Open.
Soon Huat-Shevon set up a last eight clash with the two-time World Championships bronze medallists after edging Indonesia's Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, the last week's Malaysia Masters finalists 10-21, 21-18, 21-10 in the last 16 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium today.
Soon Huat was pleased that the pair have accomplished their quarter-final target, but they are ready to raise the bar by challenging to themselves to get the better of Chun Man-Ying Suet, whom they have never beaten in all previous five encounters.
"With our quarter-finals target locked, we can now look forward to progressing further. Up next is the Hong Kong's world No 7, we want to try overcome them for the first time and make it to the semis," said Soon Huat, who with Shevon finished runners-up at Swiss Open and semi-finalists at the Korea Masters earlier this year.
"Our previous meetings have always been closely contested. If we can do better in terms of consistency and be more patient during the match, I believe we stand a chance."
Soon Huat said together with Shevon, who's also his partner off the court, felt revitalised returning to Singapore - the scene where they lifted their sole Super 500 title in 2018.
They were in the form of their lives, beating then Olympic champions Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia to become the first Malaysian mixed doubles winners in the tournament since Ng Boon Bee-Sylvia Ng 1971.
"We certainly felt the good vibes coming back to the place where we won. It reminds us that what we're capable if we continue to work hard and fight on," said Soon Huat.
"Shevon and I are on the same page. Right now, we just want to enjoy and appreciate every single tournament opportunity. We went through a lot ups and downs in the past few years, there's nothing more that put us under pressure anymore."
Meanwhile, things are continuing to look up for two new national combinations Chen Tang Jie-Valeree Siow and Hoo Pang Ron-Toh Ee Wei.
Pang Ron-Ee Wei upset world No 13 Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje of Denmark 21-11, 21-19 and were joined by Tang Jie-Valeree in the last eight who outclassed Reginald Lee Chun Hei-Ng Tsz Yau 21-13, 21-7.
Pang Ron-Ee Wei stand a better chance to make the semis as they China's Guo Xin Wa-Zhang Shu Xian while Tang Jie-Valeree face stern test against Thai world No 2 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
In what was a disastrous campaign for Malaysia in the men's doubles competition, all five pairs have been wiped out with Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani-Goh Sze Fei being the biggest let down.
The fifth seeded Ee Yi and Yew Sin, who returned to action after recovering from Covid-19, were ousted by Taiwan's Lu Ching Yao-Yang Po Han 21-18, 21-19.
Izzuddin-Sze Fei failed to live up to their status as sixth seeds, losing 18-21, 24-22, 21-18 to M.R. Arjun-Dhruv Kapila.
The other three casualties were Wan Arif Junaidi-Haikal Nazri, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Goh V Shem-Low Juan Shen.
