KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, will have to skip the China Open 2024, scheduled for Sept 17 to 22 in Changzhou.

Wooi Yik said they had to withdraw from the Super 1000 tournament at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium as he is still recovering from a toe fracture sustained during the semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics last month.

"So far, the recovery is at 70 per cent. I’ve started light training on court and will begin full training next week.

"However, there wasn’t enough time to prepare for the China Open, so we withdrew last Tuesday,” he told reporters during a training session at Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara today.

If he recovers swiftly, the 26-year-old shuttler does not rule out the possibility of returning to the court for two upcoming European tournaments: the Arctic Open 2024 and Denmark Open next month.

The Arctic Open 2024 will be held in Vantaa, Finland from Oct 8-13, while the Denmark Open 2024 will take place in Odense from Oct 15-20.

At the Denmark Open 2023, the Paris 2024 bronze medallists made history by winning their first World Tour title with a 21-13, 21-17 victory over Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana from Indonesia.

Wooi Yik said this is the first time he has experienced a toe fracture and acknowledged that he needs some time to fully recover.

"I need to be patient and rest, which is why I stopped training for over a month,” he said.

Last week, national men’s doubles coach Tan Bin Shen confirmed that the 2022 world champion pair would not participate in the Hong Kong Open 2024, which started on Tuesday and will run until Sunday. — Bernama