PETALING JAYA: World No. 6 men’s doubles shuttler Man Wei Chong felt his decision to push through the pain in his right knee to compete in the All-England was worthwhile despite exiting in the quarter finals.
Wei Chong explained that he did not spend much time training on court before flying to Birmingham as he had been resting more to recover from the injury.
As such, he and partner Tee Kai Wun were pleased to have produced energetic performances throughout the week at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham and even came close to upsetting fellow Malaysians Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the quarter finals yesterday.
Their showing was even more satisfying considering their previous three appearances at the All-England in 2022, 2024 and last year had all ended in disappointment with first round exits.
In the quarter final clash, Wei Chong-Kai Wun put up a gallant show before losing 16-21, 22-20, 12-21 to Aaron and Wooi Yik.
It was the eighth meeting between the two Malaysian pairs, with Aaron-Wooi Yik now winning the last three encounters in a row.
“I think we played quite well, but in the third game, after the interval at 11 points, we did not play well and that made it difficult for us to catch up with them.
“Actually I chose to compete in the All-England to give everything in this tournament. I did not want people to say that because I was injured, our performance was affected. The coaches also gave me the opportunity to play, so of course I gave it my all and did not think about the injury.”
Wei Chong-Kai Wun’s exit from the All-England also means they will not be competing in any other tournaments in Europe this month.
With about three weeks available, Wei Chong hopes to make full use of the time to continue recovering his right knee as they prepare for the Asian Championships in Ningbo, China, from April 7-12.
Meanwhile, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah knocked out Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari 21-9, 21-18 in 43 minutes to become the country’s first women’s pair to reach the semi-finals in 19 years.
The last Malaysian pair to make the semi-finals were Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty in 2007.
None have gone beyond the semi-finals, and Pearly-Thinaah will be looking to do just that when they take on South Korea’s Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee for a place in the final.
