KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Malaysia’s top mixed doubles pair, Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai Jemie, made an impressive start to their Swiss Open campaign, cruising into the second round yesterday.
According to The Star, the top seeds needed just 28 minutes to defeat Taiwan’s Cheng Zhi-ray and Yang Ching-tun 21-8, 21-18 at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel.
Next, the husband-and-wife duo will face Thailand’s Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat, where they will seek to avenge their defeat to the same pair at last year’s Thailand Open.
In another successful outing for Malaysia, Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien also progressed in the mixed doubles category.
The pair dispatched Macau’s world No. 81 duo, Leong Lok Chong and Ng Weng Chi, 21-14, 21-10, the English daily reported,
Their next challenge will be a tougher one as they go up against fourth seeds Delphine Delrue and Thom Gicquel of France today.
Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei also shone in the women’s singles, securing a spot in the second round. Despite it being her first tournament appearance of the year, Jin Wei delivered a dominant performance, defeating Taiwan’s Pai Yu-po 21-18, 21-12 in just 34 minutes.
The former world junior champion, however, faces a stern test in the next round against Thailand’s second seed, Supanida Katethong.
It was not all good news for Malaysia as men’s singles player Justin Hoh saw his campaign come to an end in the opening round. After an impressive showing in the qualifiers, Justin could not maintain his momentum, falling to Japan’s Yushi Tanaka 21-7, 21-13 in 31 minutes.
