PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttler Lai Pei Jing’s preparations for the Malaysian Open which starts tomorrow at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil has been far from smooth, but she is taking it all in her stride.
Pei Jing, was hit with Covid-19 followed by a viral infection last month.
The 31-year-old is feeling much better now and is keen to put up a positive show in front of the home fans with her partner Tan Kian Meng.
“My preparations for the tournament were disrupted by Covid-19 and then a viral infection,” said Pei Jing.
“I will say my recovery is at about 80% now. I’m still having a cough which has affected my sleep.
“Thankfully, Kian Meng and I still had enough time to train and I’m motivated to perform well in front of the home fans.”
Uphill battle: Lai Pei Jing (right) has yet to fully recover from Covid-19 but will be in action with mixed doubles partner Tan Kian Meng (left) at the Malaysian Open.
Pei Jing knows that she needs to be on top of her game from the start as she and Kian Meng, who are currently ranked No. 25 in the world, have a tough opening match against South Korea’s world No. 7 Kim Won-ho-Jeong Na-eun.
Pei Jing though is drawing inspiration from the pair’s victory over Won-ho-Na-eun in their last meeting in the Japan Masters in November.
“The draw is tough for us as we face the Korean pair, who are ranked second in their country,” said Pei Jing.
“But we beat them the last time we met and hopefully we can get another win.
“We don’t want to look too far ahead in the tournament and want to take it one match at a time.”
A win over the Koreans will see Kian Meng-Pei Jing take on either Japan’s world No. 17 Kyohei Yamashita-Naru Shinoya or world No. 21 Yuki Kaneko-Misaki Matsutomo in the second round.
