A REJUVENATED Goh Soon Huat is excited and eager to earn Olympic qualification points with his mixed doubles partner, Shevon Lai.
Soon Huat, who has been plagued with injuries over the last two months, pointed out that it is crucial for him and his partner to catch up with other top pairs, including compatriots Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing.
Soon Huat and Shevon last played as a pair in the Sudirman Cup in Nanning in May before the former picked up a hamstring injury.
“After having skipped the Australian Open (June), I got to know that my right leg was stronger than my left.
“As a result, my left leg was prone to injuries. Whenever I moved to the right to return a shot, it was painful for me to move back quickly to the left.
“Since then, I have been working hard on strengthening my left leg.
“I don’t feel pain anymore,” said the 29-year- old.
The World No 13, who won last year’s Singapore Open, will return to competitions in next week’s Indonesia Open.
They play World No 23 Kohei GondoAyane Kurihara of Japan in the first round.
“The Indonesia Open is a BWF World Tour Super 1000 event. It offers a lot of points.
“Shevon and I will be guaranteed of 3,000 points when we play in the first round .
“It’s crucial for us to start collecting qualification points or it will be hard for us to catch up,” added Soon Huat.
Soon Huat-Shevon are currently ranked No 23 on the Race to Tokyo list.
Above them are Kian Meng-Pei Jing (No 14) and 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallists Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (No 16).
Apart from the Indonesia Open, Soon Huat-Shevon will also compete in the Japan Open on July 23-28 and the Thailand Open on July 30-Aug 4.