PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttler Mohd Haikal Nazri has defended himself, explaining that he genuinely suffered a right ankle injury and did not deliberately make excuses to skip the Swiss Open this week. This comes after national men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi expressed his displeasure over the decision by Haikal and his partner, Choong Hon Jian, to withdraw from the tournament. For Haikal, the decision was not an easy one, as he admitted he is still dealing with lingering fear after previously suffering a series of injuries. “This is an old injury and I felt it again during training at the All-England Open. When it happened again, especially after I had already suffered ankle injuries twice, I decided to skip the Swiss Open because the fear is still there,” said Haikal on Saturday (March 14).

Source: The Star March 14, 2026 16:42 UTC