KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 — An all-Malaysian final would not be on the cards tomorrow as mixed doubles pairs Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie both fell in the semi-finals of the 2025 Malaysia Open today.
Third seeds Chen-Toh failed to upset the top seeds from China, Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping, losing 19-21, 14-21 in 50 minutes at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
Husband and wife Goh-Lai let slip a first-game advantage and went down to Thailand’s new combination Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran 21-17, 12-21, 16-21.
Chen-Toh led 8-3 in the opening game but lost the momentum by giving away easy points to Yan Zhe-Dong Ping, resulting in a 19-21 loss.
In the second game, the world number five ranked Malaysians showed a spark of hope, racing to a 9-6 lead but their opponents quickly fought back, tying the score at 9-9 and ultimately closing out the game 21-14 to extend the head-to-head record to 5-2 in favour of the Chinese.
Speaking to the press after the match, Chen said they performed quite well in the earlier stage of the game, but their rushed play and failure to properly execute an attacking strategy allowed their opponents to take control.
“Like I said, when we were attacking, we did not manage to get the points that we needed today. That is why we were mentally disturbed,” he said.
Toh admitted that they have yet to reach the level of the top pairs and still have much to learn from them.
In the case of Goh-Lai, their first-game win at 21-17 was nullified by a series of unforced errors in the next two games, particularly through Lai's missed returns, causing them to lose 12-21, 16-21 and concede the match in 63 minutes.
She was clearly gutted for being unable to bring cheers to the home fans as they had such a good run into the last four today.
“It is very sad because in our hearts we 200 per cent wanted to play in the final as it is difficult to get such an opportunity,” Lai said.
Goh admitted that their lack of speed and power, particularly after winning the first game, took a toll on their performance and allowed Dechapol-Supissara to stage a comeback.
Rio 2016 Olympic Games silver medallists Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying were the last Malaysian mixed doubles duo to play in the final, while the last local pair to claim the title were Teh Kew San-Ng Mei Ling in 1965.
— Bernama
[caption id="attachment_386327" align="aligncenter" width="1193"]
(back, from left to right) National badminton and mixed doubles athletes Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai Jemie in action during their match against Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran, on the fifth day of the 2025 Malaysia Open at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, on January 11, 2025. — Picture by BERNAMA[/caption]
