Walkover at Arctic for Soon Huat-Shevon
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2025-10-07,KUALA LUMPUR
Professional mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai received a timely boost in their bid to revive their form after advancing to the second round of the Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland without playing a match.
The world No. 8 husband-and-wife duo progressed with a walkover following the withdrawal of Scotland's world No. 23 Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson.
The early reprieve offers the Malaysians a smoother start to their European swing as they look to bounce back from a sluggish spell that has seen them reach only one quarter-final in their last five outings.
Soon Huat-Shevon are aiming to defend their semi-final points from last year's Arctic Open, with a strong run crucial to maintaining their top-10 world ranking — a key benchmark under the Youth and Sports Ministry's Road to Gold (RTG) programme.
The pair were inducted into the RTG list in June as medal prospects for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but recent results have put them under pressure to justify their inclusion.
They are favoured to reach the quarter-finals in Finland by overcoming Italy–England combination Innocenzo Santoro-Karen Feng next, before facing a likely showdown with Thailand's world No. 3 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran.
The Thais have dominated their rivalry 5–3, including wins in their last two meetings at the Singapore and Indonesia Opens in June.