Injury will not deter Wee Kiong
DOUBLES player Tan Wee Kiong hurt his neck in training before leaving for New Delhi on Monday but the shuttler and his partner Goh V Shem will rally on and play in the India Open today.
National doubles coach Jeremy Gan said Wee Kiong sprained his neck in practice on Saturday but it is not a serious problem.
“Wee Kiong still cannot turn his neck on one side comfortably but he is getting better. V Shem-Wee Kiong should be ready for their first match tomorrow,” said Jeremy in New Dehli yesterday.
The top seeds will open against Thailand’s Kittinupong KedrenDechapol Puavaranukroh in the first round today.
The World No 2 are drawn to play fifth seeds Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen of China in the quarterfinals and third seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark in the semi-finals.
Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda of Japan are the second seeds.
V Shem-Wee Kiong are eager to win the India Open as they want to regain the World No 1 ranking.
“Every pair in this tournament have quality. It will not be easy. I have reminded V Shem-Wee Kiong to treat all pairs with respect and also to focus on their own performance,” said Jeremy.
In their first tournament of the season, V Shem-Wee Kiong were ousted in the quarter-finals of the All England in Birmingham early this month.
They had a fruitful season in 2016 by winning the Dubai World Super Series Finals, Denmark Open and the Syed Modi International but their biggest success was returning with a silver medal from the Rio Olympics.
All England finallists and fourth seeds Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying will start their mixed doubles campaign against India’s Venkat Gaurav Prasad-Juhi Dewangan today. Ajitpal Singh