KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 — Professionals Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying survived a “dramatic and emotionally-draining” clash against compatriots Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai to check into the mixed doubles semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters 2019 badminton championships today.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying had to rely on every ounce of their experience to prevail 22-20, 22-20 over their former teammates at the Axiata Arena, KL Sports City.
Liu Ying described the clash as emotional as it was the first time the two pairs were meeting on court since she and Peng Soon left the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) setup last month to turn professionals.
“Yes, it was kind of an emotional match. It was a really tough match and mentally challenging too... we used to train together so we know each other’s game well,” she said.
Peng Soon, though, expects another tough time, mentally and physically, when they come up against top seeds Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino of Japan in the last four tomorrow.
The Japanese pair downed world No 3 Seo Seung Jae-Chae Yujung of South Korea 21-7, 21-13, in the last eight today.
Meanwhile, Soon Huat attributed their loss to Peng Soon-Liu Ying to them making mistakes at crucial moments.
“We lost focus on crucial points. We could have won if we had been calmer,” he said. — Bernama
