PETALING JAYA: No replacement.
The national women’s squad will stick with just nine players, with no one to take over injured woman doubles player Pearly Tan’s place in the Uber Cup Finals in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24–May 3.
Pearly has been forced to withdraw at the last minute due to back injury, leaving M. Thinaah to form scratch partnership with others in the team.
The other doubles players in the team are Carmen Ting–Ong Xin Yee and Low Zi Yu–Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan.
Mixed doubles player Toh Ee Wei could have been a good option to come on board but national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky felt there was no need to make any changes.
Rexy said Pearly had complained about a back pain and it worsened during her campaign at the Asian Championships in Ningbo last week.
“Pearly was not in a position to compete at the required level. We had to make a decision to ensure the team are fully prepared.
“Thinaah will form a scratch pairing with one of the other doubles players in the squad currently in Denmark.
The team are going through an eight-day training stint in Herning and the time would be crucial for Thinaah to build chemistry with one of them and form a strong scratch partnership.
Also in the squad are women’s singles players, K. Letshanaa, Wong Ling Ching, Goh Jin Wei, and Siti Zulaikha Azmi.
Malaysia have been drawn in Group D, where they will face Turkiye, South Africa, and six-time champions Japan.
The top two teams from the group will advance to the knockout stage.
