Gwangju: After losing the first game 21-11, Malaysia’s mixed doubles No. 4 seeds pair Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai couldn’t capitalize on an 8-1 lead in the second game, losing to unseeded Oi Xuan Yi/Huang Ya Qiong of China 21-11, 21-15 in the Korea Masters semi-finals on Saturday.
“I made too many mistakes in today’s game. I couldn’t keep my focus in the court,” said Lai.
“Because of that, our confidence level dropped and I wasn’t sure what should be the right thing to do inside the court,” added Lai.
After the Korea Masters, the World No. 13 Goh/Lai will shift their focus to the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) which will be held in Manila, from April 26 to May 1.
Ou/Huang will meet compatriots and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics champions – Wang Yi Lyu/Huang Dong Ping in the final.
In men’s singles, Malaysia’s World No. 68 Soong Joo Ven failed to advance to the final as he went down to World No. 47 Kodai Naraoka of Japan 17-21, 23-21, 11-21 in 85 minutes.
Nevertheless, Soong was satisfied with his performance at the Korea Masters as he defeated several higher-ranked opponents before reaching the semi-finals.
“Except for the first round, my other opponents all had higher world rankings than me,” said Soong.
“Actually, the opponents in the first round also played well and it was not easy for me to record a victory. So, overall I am happy with my performance here,” added Soong.
Naraoka will take on Jeon Hyeok Jin of Korea in the final. Jeon reached the final after beating Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin 21-18, and 21-15 in another semi-final action.
In addition to the mixed doubles final, China’s Ou Xuan Yi also made the men’s doubles final partnering with Liu Yu Chen. They will play the Korean pair – Kim Gi Jung/Kim Sa Rang in the final. China’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics champion Chen Yufei will face compatriot He Bing Jiao in the women’s singles final.
Meanwhile, the Korean team already ensured a gold medal in the women’s doubles category when Baek Ha Na/Lee Yu Rim will meet compatriots and the second seeds Kim Soyeong/Kong Heeyong in the final.
