Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s World No. 5 mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying won their second round encounter 21-13, 21-14 against Ricky Karandasuwardi/Pia Zebadiah Bernadet of Indonesia on Thursday before setting up the quarter-final match up against World No. 2 Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping of China next.
Speaking to Malaysian media after their second round match, Goh Liu Ying said she was playing better in the last 16.
“I think my game was better compared to the first round, and our game plan was also becoming clearer,” said Goh.
Goh added that although she and Chan Peng Soon have turned professional, they were still representing Malaysia.
“Well, I’m happy to be in the quarter-finals. Playing in front of a crowd definitely help boost our confidence,” added Goh.
Meanwhile, Chan Peng Soon also acknowledged that they were playing much better at home than their recent European tour.
“We were playing better here than in Europe, we are going to have a tough match tomorrow but we are ready,” said Chan.
Also in the quarter-finals were another mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing after fighting back from dropping the first set to win 15-21, 21-17, 21-13 over India’s Pranaav Jerry Chopra/N Sikki Reddy. Tan/Lai will meet Tontowi Ahmad/Winny Oktavina Kandow of Indonesia on Friday.
Another Malaysian mixed doubles pair, Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai had to pull out of the tournament as Goh was experiencing some dizziness prior to the match against Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand.
Despite good news from the mixed doubles department, all Malaysian men’s doubles pairs failed to progress to the next round after Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi, and Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong were stranded in the second round.
“We played really bad today. We got off to a slow start in the first set, and eventually lost our confidence while our transition was not smooth either,” said Chia.
“We’ll need to talk to our coach to strengthen our consistency and our mental toughness,” added Chia.
