PETALING JAYA: With just five days to go before the Japan Open gets underway next Tuesday, men's doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi is racing against time to get Man Wei Chong ready for his return to competition after a two-month lay-off.
Wei Chong will make his debut with new partner Soh Wooi Yik in Tokyo, where they will take on Taiwan's Lee Fang-jen-Lee Fang-chih in the opening round.
Herry said Wei Chong had only recently resumed training after recovering from a right knee injury, with his last competitive outing coming at the Thomas Cup Finals in Horsens in May.
After two weeks back in training, Herry believes Wei Chong is still short of full fitness and is currently operating at only around 70 to 75 per cent.
"I think this is only Wei Chong's second week back in training. He's still not at 100 per cent and there are still several areas that need improvement.
"I'm giving him specific training as part of his recovery, especially in situations where he has to react quickly to unexpected shots because his reactions are still a little slow," said Herry.
Besides Wei Chong-Wooi Yik, Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing will face China's seventh seeds Chen Boyang-Liu Yi in the opening round, while Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi will take on Americans Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith.
Malaysia will also be represented by three independent pairs. Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong will face former world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi of Japan, while Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani will meet China's Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi. Goh V Shem, partnering South Korea's Choi Sol-gyu, will open against China's fourth seeds Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang.
Herry also believes this week's joint training sessions with Singapore's men's doubles squad have provided a timely boost ahead of the Japan Open.
Former national coach Paulus Firman, now Singapore's men's doubles coach, has brought seven players to train at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara since Monday.
Like Malaysia, Paulus is also using the training camp to prepare several newly formed partnerships for upcoming tournaments.
"My principle is simple. Paulus told me he wanted his players to follow the training programme that I'm running this week," added Herry.
"We're preparing for the Japan Open next week, where we'll have three pairs competing. Singapore don't have any representatives there, but they will compete in the Taiwan Open and still have about two weeks to prepare.
"My players are naturally more focused when they train against different opponents. Having players from another team here creates more variety and makes the training sessions better.''
