Soon Huat-Shevon prepare for speed test at China Open
The world No. 6 have crashed out at the quarter-final stage in six of their last seven tournaments, with the latest setback coming in a straight-games defeat (21-13, 23-21) to eventual champions Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin of China at the Japan Open on Friday.
While they won't face the in-form Zhen Bang-Ya Xin until the semi-finals this week, the Malaysians must first overcome a likely quarter-final clash against world No. 3 Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong.
"They (Zhen Bang-Ya Xin) have a clear advantage over us in terms of speed," said Soon Huat.
"Every time we face them, we prepare physically and mentally to cope with that kind of speed. It's very hard to find opponents with that pace to train against daily, so it's actually good to play them regularly.
"It was also our first time reaching the Japan Open quarter-finals, and we're hoping to build on that."
The Chinese pair's blistering pace has helped them establish an 8-1 head-to-head lead over Soon Huat-Shevon.
The Malaysians also trail in records against other top combinations — world No. 1 Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping of China (2-0), Chun Man-Ying Suet (11-1), and Thailand's world No. 5 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (5-3).
Now aged 35 and 32 respectively, Soon Huat and Shevon may have lost some reflex sharpness, but they still hold the edge over most younger pairs.
The Malaysians are expected to beat Indonesia's world No. 14 Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu in their opening match on Wednesday, before a potential second-round clash with Denmark's world No. 21 Mads Vestergaard-Christine Busch.
Meanwhile, Toh Ee Wei has declared herself fit after taking a knock from partner Chen Tang Jie's racquet during their semi-final defeat to Zhen Bang-Ya Xin in Japan.
"My hand is good, thanks for all the support. We're on the way to China," she posted on TikTok on Sunday.
National coaching director Rexy Mainaky also confirmed Ee Wei's fitness.
"She just felt some pain at the point of impact, but she's fine now and good to go."
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will begin their China Open campaign against American pair Presley Smith-Jennie Gai (world No. 29) on Tuesday.
World No. 13 Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin will be out to snap a run of four first-round exits when they face China's world No. 44 Gao Jia Xuan-Wu Meng Ying.
Independent pair Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien (No. 34) will take on India's world No. 33 Rohan Kapoor-Shivani Gadde.
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