KUALA LUMPUR – Given the demands to consistently perform at the highest level, top athletes inevitably face the risk of injuries.
The situation is further complicated when athletes are compelled to participate in numerous tournaments simply to accumulate enough ranking points to qualify for major events.
So how do they manage this?
Malaysian women’s doubles player M. Thinaah believes that elite athletes must prioritise listening to their bodies as no one understands their physical limits better than themselves.
Speaking recently at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM), Thinaah, who forms the world number eight pairing with her partner Pearly Tan, said: “Personally, I believe you know your body better than anyone else. So, recovery before and after training is crucial.
“When I mention recovery, I don’t just mean cooling down or taking ice baths, but also getting enough sleep and eating healthily.
“It’s about self-management. No one can tell you exactly what to do because no one knows your body better than you.
“As an elite athlete, it’s very important to listen to your body and take proper care of yourself.”
Thinaah’s remarks are particularly timely, following a spate of injuries among national shuttlers. One notable case is 18-year-old women’s singles prospect Siti Zulaikha Azmi who is recovering from a posterior ankle impingement.
Siti Zulaikha, a double bronze medallist at the Asian Junior Championships in July, is racing against time to regain fitness ahead of the World Junior Championships in Nanchang, China, later this month.
She is not the only prominent player sidelined by injury. National men’s singles star Ng Tze Yong is out for the rest of the year, having failed to recover from a lower back injury sustained earlier this year.
Last year, men’s singles player Justin Hoh suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, ruling him out for half a year.
Meanwhile, Thinaah noted that she and Pearly Tan have made progress in handling crucial points and are hopeful of a strong performance at the Hong Kong Open this week.
“We’ve made some progress in closing out important points, but we’re still learning and working on it,” she said.
“For the Hong Kong Open, we just want to enjoy ourselves and keep up our positive momentum.”
Pearly and Thinaah, who made history last month by becoming the first Malaysian women’s pair to reach the Olympics semi-finals in Paris, have received a first-round bye and will face the winners of the match between Hong Kong’s Lui Lok Lok and Tsang Hiu Yan, or Chinese Taipei’s Hu Ling Fang and Jheng Yu Chief, on Thursday. – September 10, 2024