PETALING JAYA: Men's singles shuttler Cheam June Wei's bid to end his seven-year wait for a title in the Azerbaijan International was cruelly cut short by injury.
June Wei struggled with pain in his hip during the final against Poland's Dominik Kwinta and was forced to throw in the towel while trailing 8-21, 1-8 in Baku yesterday.
It was an unfortunate end for the independent player, who was hoping to win his first title since capturing the 2019 Malaysian International.
"I felt discomfort in my hip when I woke up in the morning today (yesterday). I tried to fix it during the warm up but it still didn't get better," lamented June Wei.
"I chose to retire after the first game as I wanted to prevent it from becoming worse.
"I was getting back some of my form in this tournament but unfortunately this happen, so I'll take some precautions."
June Wei also finished runners-up twice in the World Tour Super 100 Indonesian Masters in 2022 and Taiwan Masters in 2024.
The 29-year-old has been struggling for form for over a year and has seen his world rankings plummet to No. 104.
June Wei, who reached a career high No. 41 in the world in 2023, is still not giving up on his career.
"I plan to continue to play but I’m looking for sponsors currently," said June Wei.
"It’s very difficult to continue without sponsors. Of course I hope I can get back into the world's top 50 rankings."
