KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — Top national mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei still have a good chance to qualify for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals although they will be skipping next month’s Arctic Open (in Vantaa, Finland) and Denmark Open (in Odense) due to an injury to Toh.
National mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto said this is because the pair are comfortably positioned in the second spot in the latest BWF ranking list released on Tuesday (September 24).
It was reported yesterday that the 24-year-old Toh required 16 stitches after sustaining injuries caused by broken glass when she slipped while holding a dumbbell during a 3.30pm workout session at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) gymnasium on Tuesday.
“But the pair stand a good chance (to make the BWF World Tour Finals) because they are still ranked in the top five (and) most of the other pairs have changed partners. Another thing is that those who are in the top eight are mostly newcomers who have not been performing consistently.
“So, I am confident that our pair still have the chance to qualify and we will continue monitoring their ranking after the two tournaments,” he said during a training session at the ABM today.
Meanwhile, Nova hopes the world number nine Chen-Toh can return to action by November at the latest, for the Korea Masters (in Iksan City).
“We will see after these two tournaments (Arctic Open and Denmark Open). If they are not in a good position in the (BWF World Tour Finals) ranking, then perhaps we will enter them for the Korea Masters. Otherwise, they will only return to action in the Japan Masters in Kumamoto (also in November).
“We do not want to be too hasty for them to return to competition for fear that it could aggravate her injury,” he said.
— Bernama
