KUCHING: National independent shuttler Pei Wee Chung will resume his quest to better his Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings in three international tournaments next month.
Pei Wee Chung
They are the German Open from March 1-6, All-England Championship from March 8-13 and Swiss Open from March 15-20.
Of the three tournaments, Pei will play in the qualifying rounds of the German Open and the Swiss Open.
“I’m placed sixth on the reserve list for the All-England, so I’m not so sure of competing in this event unless there are many last-minute withdrawals,” he said.
However, should he get the chance to play in the All-England, he would have to pull out of the Swiss Open as the dates of both events are too close to each other.
The 36-year-old from Kuching was back in the city to celebrate Chinese New Year and take a short rest to recover from his knee injury suffered during training just before the Korean Open at end of January.
On his injury, Pei said it was not too serious as he is still able to give his opponents a good fight.
“The German physiotherapist at the National Sports Council said I can still play after some treatment and stretching and strength-building exercises. An operation will definitely speed up recovery but it’s still the last option.”
He said should he go for the operation now, his hopes of playing in the targeted first few tournaments and the 2012 London Olympics will be dashed.
“You need to rest for eight months — and this is where you get to miss a lot of tournaments and ranking points.”
Although Pei has not set any target this year, he is always hoping to do well in every tournament.
“Winning or losing does not matter. What’s more important is that I have tried my best. Even if I lose, I still feel happy and satisfied.”
Pei, the first Sarawakian to win the Sukma singles badminton gold in 1992, will also play in the New Zealand Open from March 31 to April 3 and the Australian Open from April 5-10.
After these few tournaments, he will assess his fitness and knee condition before deciding whether to go for knee operation or continue competing in other tournaments.