INCHEON: Shuttler Tan Boon Heong turned 27 yesterday, but he was not in the mood to celebrate.
Boon Heong, who won the men’s doubles title with Koo Kien Keat at the Doha Asian Games in 2006, is down with a left thigh injury and his hopes of a second gold in Incheon is now in jeopardy. At these Games, he is partnering Hoo Thien How.
To make matters worse for Malaysia, reserve Lim Khim Wah is also complaining of a swollen right heel.
Both Boon Heon and Khim Wah sustained their injuries in their final training session in Kuala Lumpur two days ago.
The badminton team arrived in Incheon yesterday and doubles coach Pang Cheh Chang said yesterday the duo are almost certain to miss the quarter-final clash against either Macau or Mongolia in the men’s team event on Sunday.
Malaysia have a bye in the first round and only need to beat either Macau or Mongolia to reach the semi-finals.
But Boon Heong is not too concerned about the team event. He is worried about whether he can play in the individual competition, which begins on Sept 24.
“I don’t know how bad the injury is because I did not consult the doctors at the National Sports Institute.
“I have never injured my thigh before so I don’t know how fast I can recover. I can feel the pain and I’m scared I will aggravate it. If this continues, I may not be able to play in the individual event. I hope it’s not too serious,” said Boon Heong.
For Cheh Chang, he will field Chan Peng Soon, who usually plays in the mixed doubles, with Thien How in the team event.
“Injury is the most worrying issue for a coach and a player. We can do all we can to avoid it but this things happen. We hope they can recover better in the days to come, especially as we need them when we face China in the semi-finals,” said Cheh Chang.
If Boon Heong pulls out of the individual competition, Commonwealth Games champions Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong will be Malaysia’s sole hope for gold in the men’s doubles.
It was also not a good day for the shuttlers yesterday as they were only given one hour to train at the Gyeyang Gymnasium, the venue of the competition.
They arrived at the Games Village at 10am and then rushed to the venue for their 1pm training slot.
“It took us about an hour to travel to the venue. After today, there’s no more training sessions for us at the venue. One hour is just too short but there is nothing we can do,” complained Cheh Chang.
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