KUALA LUMPUR, 20 Aug – A muscle tear that could take up to eight weeks to recover has left Malaysia’s top men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia on tenterhooks and a cause for concern for the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in its preparations for the Thomas Cup Finals in October.
It has certainly thrown a spanner in the works in Malaysia’s preparations for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals and it is a race against time.
The Finals are scheduled to be held in the Aarhus, Denmark from Oct 3-11.
There is a lingering possibility of the Finals – postponed from May due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic – could be rescheduled again if the pandemic does not show signs of getting better with several countries hit by a second wave.
However, anxiety has crept into the Malaysian camp although BAM coaching director, Wong Choong Hann has downplayed the spate of injuries that has struck the players during the BAM Invitational Championships in Bukit Kiara.
Others on the crock list are national players Leong Jun Hao and independent shuttlers Liew Darren and Soong Joo Ven.
Jun Hao, who won the Asian Junior title in 2017 is also nursing a muscle tear (hip) in his lower back – which badly affected his performance in the men’s singles final against Ng Tze Yong in his 13-21, 8-21 defeat.
The tight match schedule in the championships took its toll on 33-year-old Liew Darren, who won the bronze medal in the 2018 World Championships but brings a wealth of experience and is a known fighter.
Injuries have also hit the women’s singles with defending Sea Games champion S.Kisona giving the championships a miss because of a knee injury.
The Malaysian men and women qualified for Thomas and Uber Cup Finals on merit – coming through the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Manila in February. The Asian meet served as a qualifier.
The men’s team finished runners-up to defending champions Indonesia while the women made the semi-finals for a place in the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.
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