Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying showed contentment despite their seventh loss to the world no. 2 pair Wang Yi Lyu and Huang Dong Ping in the semi-final of the Perodua Malaysia Masters 2020.

The New Strait Times quoted Chan Peng Soon saying, “Reaching the semi-finals is a good result, but we were hoping to do better. It would have been ideal to get the season started with a title. Hopefully, we can do better in Indonesia.”

“We’re not worried just yet. We can still work on the shortcomings and improve as the season progresses.” (The Star)

They will face Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich in the Daihatsu Indonesia Masters next week.

Peng Soon thinks that the Chinese mixed double players are not invincible.

“The Chinese players are beatable. Their current domination does not mean anything,” said Peng Soon.

“They may be at the top of their performance now, but what matters most is whether they can peak at the Olympics.

His comments are a reflection from his journey at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Chan and Goh were the underdogs and were only seeded eight in the tournament. They managed to thwart the formidable pair of Xu Chen and Ma Jin in the semi-final. They won Malaysia’s first mixed doubles silver medal at the Olympics. Goh Liu Ying also became the first female badminton player from Malaysia to win an Olympic medal.

Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying are currently no. 7 in the Race to Tokyo 2020 Qualification Rankings, three strips above their compatriots Goh Sun Huat and Lai Shevon Jamie.

Their prospects for Tokyo 2020 seems to be alive and well for now as Datuk Sri Norza Zakaria also sent out the following affirmation: “Just like I said before, if an independent player manages to qualify for the Olympics, they can return to BAM and train with the national team players. For the tournament, we will choose the best from the national team and the independent players, only the best players can represent our country in tournaments.”