KUALA LUMPUR (20 January, 2018): National men’s doubles Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong are on course to win their first title in front of home fans after their Perodua Malaysia Masters 2018 presented by Daihatsu semi-final success earlier today at the Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur Sports City.
Reignited by their return in partnership, the Rio Olympic silver medallists made no mistakes as they cruised past Chinese Taipei’s Chen Hung Ling and Wang Chi-Lin 21-16 21-17 in 34 minutes.
“We played well today, we dictated the tempo and we hope to perform tomorrow like we did today. It is important that we rediscover our chemistry early in the year and perform like how we did in 2016,” said V Shem.
“I don’t want to overthink things for the final. I just want to focus on doing the best I can. Our opponents for tomorrow’s match are a good pair even though they are Indonesia’s third choice men’s doubles and it will be very tricky for us,” added Wee Kiong.
The pair will take on Indonesia’s rising stars Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in tomorrow’s final.
Meanwhile, mixed doubles Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai were unable to join their compatriots in the PMM2018 final tomorrow after losing their semi-final match earlier today.
“We played well and everything was going according to plan in the first set. But our opponents outplayed us in the second and third set. They changed their strategy and that gave us a tough time,” said Shevon.
“It didn’t help that we were playing against two left-handed players because the angle of the shuttle delivery is way different,” she added.
Despite gaining an early advantage, Goh and Shevon went down fighting to second seeds Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong 21-14 12-21 13-21.
Independent player, Liew Daren could not repeat his 2012 French Open final success as he lost to current World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in the last match of the night.
Perodua Malaysia Masters 2018 Results (20 January 2018)
*results involving Malaysian players only
Men’s Singles:
Viktor Axelsen (DEN) bt Liew Daren (MAS) 21-15 21-10
Men’s Doubles:
Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (MAS) bt Chen Hung Ling-Wang Chi-Lin (TPE) 21-16 21-17
Mixed Doubles:
Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (HKG) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai (MAS) 14-21 21-12 21-13
Perodua Malaysia Masters 2018 Final Fixtures (21 January 2018)
Men’s Singles: Viktor Axelsen (DEN) vs Kenta Nishimoto (JPN)
Men’s Doubles: Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (MAS) vs Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto (INA)
Women’s Singles: Tai Tzu Ying (TPE) vs Ratchanok Intanon (THA)
Women’s Doubles: Kamilla Rytter Juhl-Christinna Pedersen (DEN) vs Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan (CHN)
Mixed Doubles: Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong (CHN) vs Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (HKG)
