Hendrawan: Priority is for Soon Huat to recover fully from illness
KUALALUMPUR: Badminton will have to take a back seat for top back-up men singles shuttler Goh Soon Huat for a while.
On Thursday, the 19-year-old Soon Huat fainted while trailing against ReksyAurezaMeganandaofIndonesia 18-21, 9-15 in the second round of the Indonesian Open Grand Prix Gold at Yogyakarta.
ThereigningMalaysianOpenGrand Prix Gold runner-up was rushed to the hospital and yesterday, he returned home for further treatment.
He is suffering from an illness and is expected to go for an operation as soon as possible. Due to his unstable condition, he has been withdrawn from the KL Open from Oct 2-6.
In fact, national singles coach Hendrawan wants Soon Huat to take a long break and recover from his illness before he makes a comeback.
“I have not trained him for the last 10 days due to the changes in BAM’s (Badminton Association of Malaysia) coaching set-up. I was not sure of his condition before he left for the Indonesian Open GP Gold. He did not complain of anything,” said Hendrawan.
Hendrawan was the coach for Soon Huat before he was removed as head of Team B in a recent structural change. However, after two weeks, he is back to his original position as the coach for the second echelon of players in the country.
“I received news from Indonesia that Soon Huat fainted during the match. This is not the first time that this has happened. Last year, he had to go for an operation too. He had massive headaches and was often dizzy. He was all right after the surgery but after many months, the same symptoms have returned,” he said.
“It has something to do with the fluid in his head. He has already made arrangements to go for an operation here. Last year, it took him one month to make a comeback. This time, I do not mind if he takes until the end of the year to heal completely.
“Health is of utmost importance and we want Soon Huat to give priority to his wellbeing first.”
With Soon Huat taking a short break to get his health issues sorted out, Hendrawan will have a host of other players to work on.
Two of his other charges - Iskandar ZulkarnainZainuddinandLohWeiSheng - alsofailedtocleartheearlyroundsofthe Indonesian Open GP Gold after losing to Indonesians Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka in the third round respectively.