Misfortune: For Roy King’s mixed doubles partner Valeree, the situation is especially worrying as she had only recently returned from a long injury layoff.
PETALING JAYA: It was a blow for the Malaysian badminton camp as two mixed doubles pairs, Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin and Yap Roy King-Valeree Siow were forced to withdraw at the last minute from the Malaysian Masters.
Both pairs were scheduled to play in the first round at Axiata Arena today, with eighth seeds Pang Ron-Su Yin originally drawn to face India’s Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto.
Meanwhile, Roy King and Valeree were supposed to take on India’s S. Karunakaran-Aaya Variyath.
Following their withdrawal, the vacant slots were filled by Indonesians Adnan Maulana-Indah Cahya Sari Jamil and Verrell Yustin Mulia-Lisa Ayu Kusumawati.
National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky confirmed that both pairs had to pull out due to injuries to Su Yin and Valeree.
“Su Yin sustained an ankle injury, and according to the doctor’s report, she needs two weeks of rest.
“As for Valeree, her knee injury has flared up again. We only found out about it two days before the managers’ meeting on Monday,” said Rexy when contacted.
The setback also means Pang Ron-Su Yin will not feature in next week’s Singapore Open.
For Valeree, the situation is especially worrying as she had only recently returned from a long injury layoff. She has managed to play in just two tournaments this year which is at the Asian Championships in Ningbo in early April and the Thailand Open last week.
The Perak-born shuttler had been sidelined since sustaining a knee injury at the Arctic Open in October last year.
Despite the absence of the two pairs, Malaysia can still count on five other representatives to carry the country’s challenge in the tournament, with defending champions Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie set to take on Denmark’s Mads Vestergaard-Christine Busch.
Chen Tang Jie-Chan Wen Tse will face seventh seeds Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi, while Toh Ee Wei-Loo Bing Kung will go up against Taiwan’s Lu Ming-che-Hung En-tzu.
Independent duo Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien will clash with Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh-Ornnicha Jonsathapornparn, while Too Ming Yap-Lee Yu Shan, who came through the qualifiers yesterday, will face Nattamon Laisuan-Tidapron Kleebyeesun of Thailand.
