Doubles shuttler undergoes surgery and will be out for the year Doubles shuttler undergoes surgery and will be out for the year BY LIM TEIK HUAT :The Star online 22 Oct 2003 KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will be without the doubles pair of Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng for their badminton challenge in the Vietnam SEA Games in December. The 22-year-old Chong Ming underwent surgery on the left shoulder at the Gleneagles Hospital in Ampang yesterday and he has been ruled out for the rest of the year. The Chong Ming-Choon Eng partnership will also not see action in the Hong Kong Open next week, Taiwan Open (Nov 4-9) and China Open (Nov 11-16). National doubles chief coach Yap Kim Hock said that Chong Ming had been told to rest for between six and eight week before resuming training. “I had hope that he could take part in at least two tournaments. But now that he has undergone surgery, he has to forget about competition for the rest of the year, including the SEA Games,” said Kim Hock. The three Open tournaments offer ranking points for qualification to the Athens Olympics next year. Chong Ming-Choon Eng, who has lost their ranking as the national number one to veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, will lose further ground. The enforced absence means that Malaysia will not have a strong pair in their bid to deny Indonesia the team title for the second consecutive time in the SEA Games. In the last Games in Kuala Lumpur, besides the men's team gold medal, Malaysia also won the men's singles through Roslin Hashim. Chang Kim Wai, who partnered Tan Fook to win the men's doubles silver medal in the Manchester Commonwealth Games last year, will replace Chong Ming as Choon Eng’s partner for the SEA Games. The singles players for the Games are Wong Choong Hann, Lee Tsuen Seng, Roslin and his younger brother, Hafiz. Kim Wai will also pair up with Choon Eng for the Open tournaments in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. “Hopefully, Chong Ming can be back at his best for important assignments next year, including the Thomas Cup qualifiers and Finals,” said Kim Hock. Malaysia will host the Thomas and Uber Cup Asian Zone qualifiers from Feb 17-24 next year. The Finals will be played in Jakarta in May
I wonder if he was struggling with the injury in the previous tournaments. That's a blow to their Olympic hopes.
