KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will have to skip the China Open 2024, scheduled for Tuesday (September 17) to September 22 in Changzhou.
Chia said they had to withdraw from the Super 1000 tournament at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium as he is still recovering from a toe fracture sustained during the semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics last month.
“So far, the recovery is at 70 per cent. I have started light training on the court and will begin full training next week.
“However, there was not enough time to prepare for the China Open, so we withdrew last Tuesday,” he told the press during a training session at Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara today.
If he recovers swiftly, the 26-year-old does not rule out the possibility of returning to the court for two upcoming European tournaments: the Arctic Open 2024 and the Denmark Open next month.
The Arctic Open 2024 will be held in Vantaa, Finland, from October 8 to October 13, while the Denmark Open 2024 will take place in Odense from October 15 to October 20.
At the Denmark Open 2023, the Paris 2024 bronze medallists made history by winning their first World Tour title with a 21-13, 21-17 victory over Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana from Indonesia.
Soh said this is the first time he has experienced a toe fracture and acknowledged that he needs some time to recover fully.
“I need to be patient and rest, which is why I stopped training for over a month,” he said.
Last week, national men’s doubles coach Tan Bin Shen confirmed that the 2022 world champion pair would not participate in the Hong Kong Open 2024, which started on Tuesday (September 10) and will run until Sunday (September 15).
— Bernama
