NATIONAL mixed doubles shuttler, Goh Soon Huat has woken up from his slumber following strong comments from BAM president, Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria recently.
The 29-year-old, who makes up the
national No1with par tner, Shevon Lai, has come under fire following a string of poor performances, with the most recent one being a second round exit at the World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, last week.
Last Sunday, Norza took several under-performing players and coaches to task, making it clear that he does not want any passengers for the Tokyo Olympics next year.
Norza’s statement has led to Soon Huat vowing to bounce back in the remaining tournaments this year.
When met at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara yesterday, Soon Huat said: “I know I was not up to the mark at the World Championships and I would like to make amends.
“Our results were poor, I admit, but I do not want to miss my chance of playing in the Olympics.
“Going to the Olympics is one thing, but winning a medal is definitely every player’s dream . Nobody wants to beapassenger, I can assure that.”
Soon Huat-Shevon have got off to a brilliant start this season, reaching two quarter-finals (Malaysia and Indonesia Masters) and two semi-finals (German Open and All England), but things started to go downhill from there.
Back-to -back injuries also forced the Malaysian World No 11 pair to skip several tournaments after the Sudirman Cup in May, and they only made a comeback last month.
Since then, things have not looked promising for the duo, who were crowned champions at the G erman and S ingapore Opens last year.
Despite receiving a first round bye, they failed to live up to their billing as 12th seeds when they were shown the exit by Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Wakana Nagahara in the world meet.
“I need to stop worrying about my injury because I am okay now. I cannot be too cautious. There are still about three weeks before our next tournament (China Open on Sept 17-22), so I will work hard to bounce back.
“I also have a target to break into the World top 10 by this year. I do not want to ruin it for Shevon,” added Soon Huat.
The other national mixed doubles fighting for an Olympic ticket next year are Tan Kian MengLai Pei Jing. They crashed out in the third round of the World Championships after losing to eventual finalists, Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand.