PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hong Jian are hoping to avoid a repeat of the injury nightmare that plagued their start of this year when 2026 comes along.
Haikal was ruled out of all tournaments for the first four months this year, including the Malaysian Open in January, due to a hip injury before making his competitive return with Hon Jian in May.
This time, it is Hon Jian who is sweating over an injury to his abdomen and is facing a nervous wait to see if he can recover in time for the Malaysia Open from Jan 6-11 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
"Hon Jian suffered a recurrence of the injury that forced us to miss a few tournaments last month," said Haikal after training without his partner at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara on Monday (Nov 24).
According to Haikal, his partner initially suffered a five-centimetre tear in his abdominal muscle during the Arctic Open in Finland.
"We had to miss a few tournaments, then (Hon Jian) told me he was feeling better and we returned to play in the Japan Masters and Australian Open over the past two weeks.
"But he still had taping over the injured area and had to take painkillers.
"Then, while competing in Australia, he felt pain in another area of his abdomen. He has gone for tests to check the extent of the injury. Hopefully, it's not too serious, and he can recover fully in time for the Malaysian Open," he added.
The injury has forced Haikal-Hon Jian out of the Syed Modi India International, which started on Monday in Lucknow.
While injuries have disrupted the pair's momentum this year, Haikal is hoping for better fortunes next year.
Haikal-Hon Jian were ranked as high as No. 18 in the world in 2024 but dropped out of the top 32 due to their fitness issues.
Currently ranked No. 34 in the world, the pair are aiming to climb back to their 2024 peak.
“It's not easy to come back after each injury setback, but we have also learned a lot this year.
“We are hoping for better times next year. We want to get back to where we were last year. We also want to win titles again,” said Haikal.
Haikal-Hon Jian's last title was the World Tour Super 300 Orleans Masters in March last year.
