INDEPENDENT pair Goh V Shem-Low Juan Shen finally scored a long-awaited first win together on their sixth attempt yesterday.

V Shem-Juan Shen, who paird in September last year, defeated compatriots and training partners Lim Khim Wah-Nur Azriyn Ayub, the Odisha Open champions in January, 21-17, 21-19 to reach the last 16 of the Korea Open.

V Shem-Juan Shen had failed to clear any of their opening hurdles in their previous five tournaments.

The pair hope to continue their encouraging run when they take on South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae next.

V Shem said they were relieved to break the duck and even joked he made a record out of the winless streak.

Juan Shen was also all smiles after getting the monkey off their backs.

“The pressure has been lifted off our shoulders with this win. As independent players, we rely on sponsors to keep us afloat. So, it’s important to produce good results.

“We must thank our sponsors for their continuous backing despite our poor run last year.”

Meanwhile, Liew Daren and Soong Joo Ven failed to clear their respective first-round matches.

Daren fell 22-20, 21-11 to India’s K. Srikanth, the last year’s World Championships silver medallist, while Joo Ven had no answer for Thomas Cup hero Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in a tame 21-13, 21-18 affair.