KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — Top national men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will not take part in the Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships 2024 following a fractured right toe injury Soh sustained recently.
The unfortunate development was revealed by national men’s doubles coach Tan Bin Shen, who said that any decision to send the world number three doubles team back to action would depend on Soh’s recovery.
However, he said the 26-year-old is currently showing positive recovery but is still unable to undergo intensive training on the court with his partner.
“On Tuesday (September 3), he underwent a bone scan which showed he has recovered a lot. His bones are fractured and previously the National Sports Institute (ISN) said he had to wait for new bone growth to recover, and now that the bones have grown (back), he can make gradual leg movements.
“He will not play in the Hong Kong Open, we will wait and see how he feels this week before deciding on whether to go to the China Open,” Tan said.
He was speaking to the press at the national badminton squad’s training session at the Academy of Badminton Malaysia today.
Tan added that Soh’s toe bone fracture occurred during the semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Meanwhile, the coach said he wanted to provide time for Soh to recover and did not want to rush the Kuala Lumpur-born athlete to return representing the country.
“I want him to recover 100 per cent, even if he is forced, he cannot, he cannot go to a tournament in such a condition, the opponents are strong,” he said.
The 2024 Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships will take place from September 10 to September 15, while the China Open Badminton Championships 2024 will take place between September 17 and September 22.
At the recently concluded Paris Olympics, Chia-Soh’s journey was derailed in the semi-finals when they lost to Chinese pair Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang 19-21, 21-15, 17-21.
However, the pair bounced back to defeat world number two Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark 16-21, 22-20, 21-19 to bring home the bronze medal.
— Bernama
