PETALING JAYA: National men’s singles shuttler Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin (pic) is raring to go again at the Thailand International Challenge from March 7-12 after recovering from a minor injury.
The 23-year-old Aidil was supposed to start his season by competing in the Thailand Masters from Jan 31-Feb 5 in Bangkok but was forced to withdraw after failing to shake off a knee injury.
Aidil felt discomfort on his knee before competing in the Malaysian International Challenge last December, but decided to shrug it off because he thought he was not properly warmed up.
The world No. 84 was disappointed to miss the first Bangkok stint as it was a rare opportunity for him to compete in a higher-ranked tournament.
“It was sad to withdraw from the Thailand Masters because I had finally qualified for a higher-tiered tournament but had to give it a miss because of the injury,” said Aidil.
“I felt an uneasy feeling before competing in the International Challenge at home but I assumed that it was due to insufficient warm up.”
After taking a one-month layoff, Aidil has set his sights on reaching at least the quarter-finals of the next meet in Thailand.
“Seeing my teammates train throughout the entire month was torturous for me because I missed training with them,” he said.
“My recovery is at about 80% so hopefully, it will not affect my performance. I’m aiming to reach the quarters or semis, but it all depends on the draw,” he added.
