KUALA LUMPUR: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai and other Malaysian top mixed doubles pairs should not hit the panic button despite losing to Thailand's new combination, Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran, at the Kumamoto Masters.
Soon Huat-Shevon fell short in a thrilling semi-final, losing 18-21, 22-20, 21-14 to the Thai pair today.
Dechapol-Supissara, who paired up last month, also defeated Malaysia's world No. 9 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei in the first round and world No. 25 Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin in the quarter-finals in Japan.
Dechapol, previously partnered with Sapsiree Taerattanachai, decided to end their successful pairing after a disappointing quarter-final exit at the Paris Olympics in August.
While Dechapol and Supissara, 27 and 24 respectively, have shown promise, Sapsiree, 32, is still seeking success with her new partner, Supak Jomkoh, 28.
Soon Huat-Shevon were hoping to add a third World Tour title to their collection after wins at the Super 300 Swiss Open in March and the Super 500 Malaysia Masters in May.
However, Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Chan Peng Soon urged the Malaysian pairs to remain calm, insisting the Thai duo is beatable.
"I don't think Malaysian pairs need to panic after just one defeat to Dechapol-Supissara," said Peng Soon.
"Dechapol is experienced and Supissara has been competing on the tour for some time, which has helped them click faster.
"Dechapol was a former world champion and world No. 1 with Sapsiree, and at his age, he's performing at his peak.
But this doesn't mean they're suddenly unbeatable or dominating the World Tour.
"Malaysian pairs just need to analyse their performance and figure out a strategy to overcome them in future tournaments."
Peng Soon and his former partner Goh Liu Ying had their fair share of battles with Dechapol-Sapsiree, winning four of their seven encounters.