PETALING JAYA: After a long and exhausting journey, mixed doubles player Lim Chiew Sien can only hope her challenge at the All-England does not end prematurely after she and her partner, Wong Tien Ci, were drawn against defending champions Guo Xinwa and Cheng Fanghui in the first round today.
The last-minute change came after their original Thai opponents, Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran, withdrew when Supissara was rushed to hospital.
Chiew Sien can breathe a sigh of relief after making it to Birmingham at the eleventh hour after her original flight on Sunday was cancelled due to unrest in the Middle East.
However, Chiew Sien had to pay about RM10,000 for a new ticket on a route that avoided the Middle East. To make matters worse, her revised flight only reached London, forcing her to continue to Birmingham by bus.
Her partner Tien Ci had departed earlier for Birmingham with the other professional players.
Other players who also arrived late included Japan’s world No. 9 men’s singles player Kodai Naraoka and women’s doubles player Arisa Igarashi.
“Hopefully I have enough time to prepare. I can only do my best,” said Chiew Sien ahead of her first-round match at the All-England.
Chiew Sien-Tien Ci previously faced the world No. 6 pair from China at the Macau Open two years ago but lost.
Last year, in their All-England debut together, they bowed out in the first round to Denmark’s Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing crashed out in the first round. They went down 17-21, 18-21 to Taiwan’s Ye Hong Wei-Nicole Chan in 36 minutes.
