PETALING JAYA: Malaysia received an early blow ahead of next week’s Asian Championships as women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah were forced to pull out from the tournament in Dubai due to illness.
National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky confirmed Pearly came down with flu on Tuesday (April 18) and he had no choice but to withdraw them from the continental championships.
The world No. 8 were looking to regain their touch after suffering earlier defeats in their last two tournaments in Europe – the All-England in Birmingham and the Swiss Open in Basel – last month by producing a strong performance in Dubai.
Rexy said Pearly was in high spirits and trained hard as usual on Monday but her condition did not look good a day later.
“Pearly is down with flu and we have no choice but to withdraw her and Thinaah from the Asian Championships,” said Rexy.
“She started having fever on Tuesday and we didn’t want to take any risks as the Olympic qualifying period starts next week. They are also important for the Sudirman Cup next month, so it is better for Pearly to rest and recover.”
Pearly-Thinaah were supposed to play Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand in the first round of the Asian Championships and were expected to reach the quarter-finals at least.
The Malaysians reached the last eight of the tournament when it was staged in Manila last year.
Pearly-Thinaah are set to be replaced by Haritha Manazhiyil-Ashna Roy of India, who are the top seeds of the qualifying rounds, who will go straight to the main draw.
Their withdrawal, however, did not help another Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Cheng Su Yin-Cheng Su Hui, to get into the qualifying draw.
According to the competing regulations, players or pairs from the reserse list are not eligible to play in the qualifying rounds after the draw is conducted.
The Cheng twins were part of the SEA Games squad and playing at the Asian Championships would have been a perfect tune-up for them before competing in Cambodia.
The BAM also planned to have simulation matches between the Sudirman Cup and SEA Games squads after the Asian Championships to benefit both teams.
However, Pearly may be left out from those matches if she is not fully recovered by then.
The Sudirman Cup will be held in Suzhou, China, from May 14-21 while the badminton competition at the SEA Games will be held from May 8-16.
