PETALING JAYA: Being among the best demands significant sacrifices, especially for players who are entering the later stages of their careers.

Mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie are aware that while they face a tough task maintaining their ranking, they can no longer compete in international tournaments with the same enthusiasm as before.

Soon Huat, now 34, and his wife Shevon, 31, have once again been included in the national elite programme, Road to Gold. This time, the programme imposes strict requirements on the athletes involved.

To start with, athletes in the programme must be ranked among the world’s top 10.

By 2026, they need to be within the top eight, and even tougher conditions apply in 2027. They must qualify for the Olympic Games on merit, be ranked among the top four in the world, and maintain that standing through 2028.

Soon Huat-Shevon currently hold the world No. 3 spot, a position they have maintained since February. However, they know they cannot afford to be complacent as many pairs are chasing hard from behind.

“Maintaining our position is quite a tough challenge. As you can see from past matches, the point margins are very close and the competition is intense,” said Shevon.

“So we both know that if we want to stay at this level, we not only need to be physically fit but also have a versatile style of play. With so many tournaments now, everyone is studying each other’s game.”

Going forward, they not only plan to diversify their playing style to remain among the world’s best, but the husband-and-wife duo also intend to be more selective when planning the tournaments they will enter.

Although they recently suffered a surprising loss to world No. 20 pair Mads Vestergaard-Christine Busch 18-21, 19-21 at the Malaysian Masters, a busy schedule awaits them.

They will next compete at the Singapore Open starting next Tuesday, followed by the Indonesian Open the week after. For them, playing three consecutive tournaments is the maximum they can currently handle.

This cautious approach is aimed at avoiding injuries, especially given Soon Huat’s history of various injuries throughout his professional career.

“Our current plan is to play in three back-to-back tournaments. If possible, we don’t want to compete in too many events. We’ll aim for two to three tournaments in a row and focus on delivering quality performances. That’s the direction we’re heading in,” added Shevon.

For the record, according to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) regulations, top players are compulsory to play in all four Super 1000, six Super 750, and up to two Super 500 events.