PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttlers Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian simply cannot catch a break lately.
After a disappointing past few months, Haikal-Hon Jian were struck by another misfortune when the former suffered a hip injury in training and faces at least two months on the sidelines.
Haikal tore his hip muscle and has been ruled out of the Malaysian Open (Jan 7-12), Indonesian Masters (Jan 21-26) and Thailand Masters (Jan 28-Feb 2).
The injury was another blow to the 22-year-old and Hon Jian, 24, who were hoping to turn their fortunes around after struggling for form since August.
World No. 21 Haikal-Hon Jian captured the Orleans Masters title last March and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in June but suffered early round exits in all their tournaments since then.
The pair looked far from their best and seem to have lost their confidence when they lost in the first round in their last four tournaments – the Masters in China, Japan and Korea as well as the China Open.
Hon Jian also picked up a hip injury which ruled him and Haikal out of the back-to-back Arctic and Denmark Opens in October.
Now, the pair missed out on their first home Open and face another frustrating wait to compete again in 2025.
Haikal might have to undergo surgery for his injury.
“Now, we need to wait for the doctors to decide if Haikal needs surgery or just has to undergo rehab for his injury,” said men’s doubles coach Tan Bin Shen.
“It’s a pity that he and Hon Jian cannot play in their first Malaysian Open. They will also miss the other tournaments in January.
“They could only return to competitions in March as there are no individual tournaments in February.”
