KUALA LUMPUR – The extent of national shuttler Pearly Tan’s knee injury will only be known after an MRI scan, said National Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer Ahmad Faedzal Md Ramli.
“All we know for now is that she has a knee injury, but we do not know how bad it is.
“We will know more after an MRI scan,” he told reporters at the sponsorship ceremony for the upcoming Malaysia Games (Sukma) today.
Faedzal said Pearly is expected to return from Japan in the next few days, adding that an NSI staff member is with her in Japan to ensure that her injury is not aggravated.
Pearly injured herself yesterday during the second round match of the Japan Open against South Korea’s Baek Ha-na-Lee Yu-lim, forcing her to retire from the competition.
She and teammate Thinaah Muralitharan took the first set 21-13, but the South Koreans forced a third set after coming back 19-21 in the second game.
Midway through the second set, the match was stopped temporarily as Pearly held her left knee in pain and needed medical attention.
She was given the green light from the tournament doctor to resume the match.
However, it was clear that something was amiss in the third set as Thinaah had to cover more ground to compensate for Pearly, who struggled to move on the court.
Trailing 11-16 in the rubber set, Pearly decided to retire from the tournament and left the court in a wheelchair in tears.
The pair previously defeated world No. 2 South Korean pair Lee So-hee-Shin Seung-chan 16-21, 21-14, 21-18 in the first round. – The Vibes, September 2, 2022
