KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — The saying "hope springs eternal” aptly describes national men's doubles shuttler Muhammad Haikal Nazri.
Still recovering from a torn right hip muscle, the 22-year-old is quietly confident that he and his partner Choong Hon Jian can kickstart their 2025 season at the March 11 to March 16 All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham.
Haikal, who has been sidelined for the past month due to the injury, was quick to admit that while he has no chance of competing in the German Open (February 25 to March 2), it is still touch-and-go for the Orleans Masters in France (March 4 to March 9).
This was because, based on the examination carried out by the National Sports Institute on Friday (February 7), his recovery level has reached 80 per cent.
"I informed my coach yesterday that I will not be able to go for the German Open but I will wait and see if I can play in the Orleans Masters or the All England.
"Of course, I would love to play in the All England as I have never competed in the world's oldest badminton tournament. Hopefully, I can recover in time,” he told the press after a training session today.
Haikal's injury resulted in him and Choong having to shelve their hopes of competing in last month's Malaysia Open for the first time.
Haikal, who resumed court training today, said he is working more on covering the front court and not making too many jumping smashes to avoid aggravating the injury.
The Kelantan-born shuttler also described training under new national men's doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi as an eye opener, with the Indonesian introducing a new method of getting them to hit with a heavier racquet to increase their wrist strength.
"For me, it (training with Herry) is okay and good… like making sure we do not lift (the shuttle) high all the time and, at the same time, making sure we use a heavier racquet. For me, that is good as I lack power,” he said.
— Bernama
