KUALA LUMPUR – It could be a hamstring injury that forced national badminton women’s doubles player Pearly Tan to retire in the second round of the Japan Open yesterday.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) high-performance director Tim Jones said early physiotherapy reports point to an injured hamstring rather than an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
“But it is hard to say without an MRI scan so we are hoping for the best. We will get her to the National Sports Institute (NSI) first thing Monday and see what the MRI scan shows,” he told The Vibes.
Pearly and team mate M. Thinaah are expected to return home from Japan this weekend.
Yesterday, NSI chief executive officer Ahmad Faedzal Md Ramli said the extent of the injury would only be known after an MRI scan.
Pearly was injured yesterday during the second round match of the Japan Open against South Korea’s Baek Ha-na and Lee Yu-lim, forcing her to retire from the tournament in tears as she had to sit in a wheelchair.
Meanwhile, Jones said newly crowned world champion Aaron Chia did not sustain a serious shoulder injury.
“It is a mild lats strain where the back muscle attaches to your armpit. Nothing too serious.”
Aaron and partner Soh Wooi Yik skipped the Japan Open after their historic World Championships win, with coach Rexy Mainaky saying they did not want to aggravate Aaron’s injury.
Aaron, who is getting married on September 16, will return to training next week.
Jones said letting Aaron rest was the “best decision” – one to allow him to heal and another was to attend to some wedding plans.
“He has about six weeks until the Denmark Open, so we will adjust his training accordingly when he gets back. Not expecting a huge time loss for him.”
The Denmark Open, which is a BWF World Tour Super 750 competition, is scheduled from October 18 to 23.
The duo brought pride to the country after they took down Indonesia’s Muhammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan and became the first Malaysians to win the badminton World Championships. – The Vibes, September 3, 2022
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