PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi has backed shuttlers Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian to get back into the world’s top 20 rankings.
Haikal-Hon Jian will make a welcome return to tournaments this year in the Taiwan Open after the former had to take some time to recover from a hip injury.
Haikal tore his hip muscle in training at the end of last year and was forced to miss several competitions with Hon Jian in the first few months of the year including the Malaysian Open in January and All-England in March.
The pair were ranked as high as No. 18 in the world last September but have slipped to No. 35 due to their absence from tournaments.
Fit for comeback: Haikal (left) and Hon Jian will make a welcome return to tournaments this year after the former took some time to recover from a hip injury.
Haikal though has recovered from his injury and will play with Hon Jian in the World Tour Super 300 Taiwan tourney which started yesterday in Taipei.
The duo are the sixth seeds in the event and will open their campaign against Singapore’s Wesley Koh-Junsuke Kubo today.
Herry believes his charges can rediscover their best form and return to the world’s top 20 by the end of this year.
“I’m optimistic that Haikal-Hon Jian can get back into the world’s top 20 again as their skills and game play are quite good,” said Herry.
“They are highly motivated to compete again after being out for about four months. They have been training well and hopefully they can translate this into tournaments.
“They might need some time to get back the tournament feeling again but I am hopeful that they can get back to their best.”
Haikal-Hon Jian have been registered for five straight tournaments in a bid to help them climb back up the rankings faster.
After playing in Taiwan, the pair will compete in the Thailand Open (May 13-18), Malaysian Masters (May 20-25), Singapore Open (May 27-June 1) and Indonesian Open (June 3-8).
“We have registered them for five tournaments as they need to compete in more events to improve their rankings,” said Herry.
“I advised Haikal to enjoy his game and communicate well with Hon Jian on court as well. He also needs to be careful to avoid getting injured again.”
