KUALA LUMPUR: Doubles specialist Yap Cheng Wen has retired from competitive badminton due to a long-standing left shoulder injury, revealed national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky today.
Cheng Wen, 28, announced her resignation from the national team on Saturday but did not disclose whether she would be turning professional or retiring from the sport.
Rexy said the team did not stand in Cheng Wen's way considering the circumstances she was facing.
Her injury had flared up during the Malaysia International challenge last month.
"She underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and it showed a torn left shoulder muscle," said Rexy.
"She has been suffering from this injury for a long time. She was already carrying it when she made the switch from women's doubles to the mixed doubles category
"She did tell me (previously) that she would only continue playing if she was able to cope with it.
"The latest MRI result was the last straw. She didn't want the injury to affect her well-being later on, so she gave up.
"It would have been difficult for her to regain her form and with age catching up, she wanted to explore other options."
In her 15-year stint with the national team, Cheng Wen enjoyed her best spell between 2018-2019 when she was partnering Vivian Hoo in the women's doubles.
In 2018, the duo captured the Macau Open title and were runners-up at the Hyderabad Open. A year later, they bagged bronze at the Manila Sea Games and went on to reach a career-high No 17 in the rankings.
Vivian was dropped from the national team in 2021 and Cheng Wen was then paired up with Anna Cheong and Lee Meng Yean but both partnerships failed to make an impact.
Cheng Wen later moved to the mixed doubles category in a bid to revive her career but her partnerships with Choong Hon Jian and Loo Bing Kun did not impress.
Cheng Wen's retirement is another blow to the national team's mixed doubles department as three other players already left in November.
Hanoi Sea Games gold medallist Peck Yen Wei called it quits after struggling with a persistent ankle injury while Chan Peng Soon and Cheah Yee See decided to turn professional.