PETALING JAYA: Wan Arif Wan Junaidi has been forced to pull out of this week’s Indonesian Masters in Kudus, Central Java as he continues to struggle with a left arm injury.
The injury already affected Arif at the Malaysia Super 100 in Iskandar Puteri, Johor last week, where he and new partner Mohd Faiq Masawi were knocked out in the second round by South Korea’s Na Sung-seung-Wang Chan 8-21, 17-21.
Men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi revealed that Arif had not fully recovered from the injury but was still allowed to play in Johor as the coaching team wanted to test his new partnership with Faiq.
"Arif has a problem with his shoulder. He was not playing at 100% and his condition was not good," he said when met at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara on Tuesday (Oct 20).
"Actually, from what I saw the other day, he should not have gone for the tournament.
"The reason we still went to Johor was because we wanted to try the partnership.
"But it turned out that Arif was still not ready. His arm is still injured and has not fully recovered. He cannot smash at full power.
"So we have cancelled our participation in the next tournament, the Indonesian Masters in Kudus."
Despite none of his charges winning a title on home soil last week, Herry is not overly concerned as many of the combinations are still being tested.
Herry, who was also in Johor last week, had the chance to assess his players up close, although he stressed that they were judged more on their individual performances.
"All of them are new pairs. They are still new combinations, but I still look at them individually.
"The pairs who played in Johor are not settled yet. They are still in the process of finding the right combinations.
"Some were okay, while some are still not there yet," he added.
