KUALA LUMPUR: Professional pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai aim to reach at least the quarter-finals in the remaining World Tour events in the next two months to convince their main sponsor to extend their contract next year.
The husband-wife team have done creditably on the international stage this year, winning the Swiss Open and Malaysian Masters.
The mixed doubles world No. 10 also reached the quarter-finals of the Korea and Hong Kong Opens before finishing second at the China Open.
Soon Huat, 34, and Shevon, 31, have been receiving solid support from their main sponsor, Victor, for the last three years, and their contract ends at the end of the year. To try and get a contract extension, Soon Huat said it is important for them to produce strong results.
So, from now they will focus only on quality events, namely super 500, super 750 and super 1000 tournaments.
Their next stop will be the Arctic Open in Finland on Oct 8-13 and Denmark Open in Odense on Oct 15-20.
"We aim to reach at least the quarter-finals in the remaining world tour events and also qualify for the World Tour Finals (Dec 11-15) in our bid to get a contract extension," said Soon Huat.
"At least reaching the quarter-finals will help us cover our expenses and we are also looking for more sponsors to continue playing on the tour next year.
"Our sponsor, Victor, has been very supportive over the last three years, but we also need to do our part in convincing them to continue backing us.
"We must aim for quality as it will not only help us improve our world ranking, but also give us the opportunity to qualify for the Tour Finals."
Soon Huat-Shevon will also want to take advantage of the lengthy layoff of China's Olympic champions and World No. 1 Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong.
Mixed doubles coach Teo Kok Siang said Si Wei-Ya Qiong will only return to action for the World Tour Finals where they have qualified automatically after winning gold at the Paris Olympics.
Soon Huat admitted that Si Wei-Ya Qiong are at a different level, and there is always an opening to do well when they are not around.
"Si Wei-Ya Qiong are the most consistent pair in the mixed doubles and we will have more advantage if they are not playing. So, we need to use this opportunity to get better results," added Soon Huat.
The couple will be determined to look beyond the quarter-finals in Europe in their bid to woo sponsors and lengthen their international careers.