An end to Anna’s pain

PETALING JAYA: The dark days are over for women’s doubles player Anna Cheong as she will be back in action with partner Teoh Mei Xing in the China Open in September.

Anna, 25, suffered the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture on her right leg in October last year and underwent surgery a month later, which kept her out from tournaments for almost a year.

The Japan Open in September last year was her last tournament with Mei Xing and Anna’s return – when she plays in the super 1000 China Open in Changzhou from Sept 5-10 – will mark exactly one year she has been out of action.

Mei Xing has been focusing more on the mixed doubles with Hoo Pang Ron and the pair have shown fine progress under Indonesian coach Nova Widianto and are currently ranked world No. 37.

During Anna’s absence, Mei Xing did not lose touch with the women’s doubles as she had partnered Go Pei Kee in several tournaments.

However, Anna-Mei Xing had shown a lot of potential before the injury setback and national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky wants them to gradually build their partnership again.

“Anna’s condition is much better and we are not having any expectations on the pair. We just want see how far this pair can go,” said Rexy.

“Anna has had a very long lay-off since the injury and we have to give them time.”

In July last year, the pair had stunned South Korea’s then world No. 3 Lee So-hee-Shin Seung-chan and Japan’s world No. 4 Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara en route to the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Open and the Malaysian Masters respectively.

They had also qualified for the World Championships in Tokyo last year.

National women’s doubles coach Hoon Thien How will also tread with caution and ensure Anna stay away from further injuries.

“Anna has been doing fine in training but they have not played in a tournament for almost a year now. Let’s see their form in tournament,” said Thien How.

The China Open has attracted almost all the top 20 pairs and Anna-Mei Xing may not have an easy draw – but they will be more than happy to get a second chance to rebuild their career.