KUALA LUMPUR: Professional mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai are on the brink of securing the biggest title of their career after storming into the China Open final on Saturday.
The husband-and-wife duo edged China's rising stars Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi 21-18, 21-18 at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou to reach their maiden Super 1000 final.
They are the first Malaysian pair to do so after Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying in 2012.
However, world No. 12 Soon Huat-Shevon have the opportunity to go one better with a victory on Sunday set to make them the first Malaysian mixed pair to clinch an unprecedented Super 1000 title since the World Tour began in 2018.
Their previous best in a Super 1000 event was a semi-final finish at the All England in 2019.
In Sunday's title decider, they will face Chinese second seeds Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping or Indonesia's Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Widjaja.
With a winner's purse of US$148,000 (RM622,000) on the line, Soon Huat-Shevon will be highly motivated. Regardless of the result, they are already guaranteed a US$70,000 (RM294,000) payout—more than double the US$33,180 they earned for their Malaysia Masters victory in May.