Badminton

'Stitches, back injury but hope remains for World Tour Finals'

KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 9 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei still have a strong chance of qualifying for the Badminton World Tour Finals, according to national mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto.

The pair are recovering from injuries and have decided to skip next month's Arctic Open and Denmark Open.

It was reported yesterday that Ee Wei, 24, required 16 stitches after suffering injuries caused by broken glass during a workout at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) gym on Tuesday.

She slipped while holding a dumbbell, resulting in a gash on her left hand and a grade 2 muscle tear in her back.

Tang Jie is nursing a left knee strain sustained after last week's China Open.

Nova remains optimistic, however, as their injuries are not serious.

He believes the pair can still secure a spot in the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou on Dec 11-15.

"Ee Wei has been given two weeks to recover. The pair are still in the top five and have a good chance of qualifying," said Nova.

The World Tour Finals have separate rankings for each event.

Tang Jie-Ee Wei currently sit second, behind China's Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin, with the top eight pairs qualifying for Hangzhou.

"Many of the top-eight pairs are relatively new and haven't been performing consistently, so I'm confident Tang Jie-Ee Wei still have a good shot," Nova said after a training session at the ABM.

The Malaysian pair will skip the European leg of the World Tour, including the Arctic Open (Oct 8-13) and Denmark Open (Oct 15-20), to focus on recovery.

"Tang Jie was due to return to training on Wednesday, but Ee Wei's injury has delayed that," said Nova.

"Luckily, she's right-handed."

Nova hopes the pair will return to action for the Japan Masters (Nov 12-17) or China Masters (Nov 19-24).

However, he added: "If they're not in a favourable position in the World Tour Finals rankings, we may enter them for the Korea Masters.

"Otherwise, they'll play at the Japan Masters. We don't want to rush their recovery and risk aggravating Ee Wei's injury."

The other Malaysian pairs vying for spots at the World Tour Finals are No. 3-ranked Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai and No. 5-ranked Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing.

"Soon Huat-Shevon will likely qualify as they're playing in Europe," added Nova.

Ee Wei, resting in her hometown in Bachang, Melaka, said: "I'm lucky the glass didn't hit my head or right hand.

"But the back injury is still quite painful.

"A physiotherapist rushed me to the hospital on Tuesday because the ambulance would've taken too long."

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