GOH Soon Huat and Shevon Lai, who are among badminton's famous couples, silenced their critics by sending world No 1 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai packing in the first round of the Indonesia Open.
The world No 14 mixed doubles pair, who crashed out in the first round of the Indonesia Masters last week after bouts of food poisoning, bounced back emphatically to upset the Thai heavyweights 21-18, 7-21, 22-20 in a 69-minute battle at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta today.
"Today, we proved that we do not come up with excuses, no matter the situation. We gave our best, and we finished the match.
"Just because we are not national players, it does not mean we will make excuses when we lose," Shevon said in response to claims that they had used food poisoning as an excuse after losing in the first round of the Indonesia Masters.
These claims were made by Indonesian BA (PBSI) secretary-general Muhammad Fadil Imran, in a recent press conference, following complaints by several players who allegedly suffered from food poisoning last week.
Earlier, Timesport reported that Soon Huat-Shevon were moving out of their initial hotel, complaining of poor hygiene in the room and dining area. They were not the only ones to complain, as BA of Malaysia (BAM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky also confirmed that his players Soh Wooi Yik and Nur Izzuddin also had bouts of food poisoning.
Wanting to put the past behind, Shevon admitted that she and Soon Huat must sustain their form if they were to go far in the Super 1000 tournament.
"I'm proud of my partner (Soon Huat) because today his face was not pale but yellowish-green. I was so afraid that something was going to happen.
"However, he kept telling me that he wanted to finish it, and I told him we would do it together. Our coach (Chin Eei Hui) also made some small changes to our game," she added.
Soon Huat-Shevon, who reached the final of the Swiss Open in March, will face Malaysia's Hoo Pang Ron-Toh Ee Wei or Japan's Yuki Kaneko-Misaki Matsumoto for a place in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, in the men's singles first round, world No 5 Lee Zii Jia lived up to his billing with a 21-15, 21-14 win over Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin.
Zii Jia will face India's Sameer Verma or France's Thomas Rouxel tomorrow.
"I'm not in my best condition, but I hope to regain my focus and reduce my unforced errors in the coming match," said Zii Jia.