KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles shuttler Cheng Su Yin is expected to brave her way to make her All-England debut with Hoo Pang Ron in Birmingham on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old, who forms the world No. 14 partnership with Pang Ron, does not want to miss the chance of playing in the prestigious tournament.
She fell at the staircase and hurt her ankle while walking back after the second-round win against Taiwan’s Lu Ming-che and Hung En-tzu on Thursday.
A day later, she and Pang Ron withdrew from the quarter-finals clash against Indonesia’s world No. 173 pair Rehan Kusharjanto-Gloria Widjaja.
National coaching director Rexy Mainaky is positive that Su Yin, who is now under observation, will play in her first All-England.
“She will not be withdrawing from the All-England. Hopefully, she will recover in the next few days,” said Rexy.
“After the match (second round), she was on her way back and had to walk down the stairs from the main court to the warm-up court, and it was quite dark.
“Perhaps she was too exhausted and miscalculated her steps. She is being closely monitored by our team.”
Based the draw for the All-England, Pang Ron and Su Yin will face South Korea’s Ki Dong-ju and Jeong Na-eun in the opening round.
Su Yin’s injury comes as another concern for the national camp, following an injury setback for men’s doubles shuttler Aaron Chia.
Aaron, who suffered a right arm injury, had been tipped to challenge for the title with partner Soh Wooi Yik as Malaysia aims to end a 17-year wait for an All-England crown.
However, his injury took a toll on his performance, as he and Wooi Yik crashed out in the first round of the Orleans Masters, losing 18-21, 8-21 to unheralded Chinese pair Sun Wenjun-Zhu Yijun.
The duo, who were the finalists at the 2019 and 2024 editions, will face Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard in the first round.
The Malaysians have beaten the Danish pair in the first round of the Malaysian Open last year in the only meeting between the two pairs.
