KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — National women’s singles hopeful Tee Jing Yi’s chances of playing in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics look bleak after suffering an injury to her right ankle in the First National Circuit at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara, recently.

Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) acting president Tan Sri Mohamed Al Amin Abd Majid however, had not made any decision, as he was still awaiting reports on the full extent of the injury to the 29th ranked player in the world.

He said if Jing Yi fails to recover, she might be replaced by rising star Goh Jin Wei.

“BAM has brought the matter to the OCM Selection Committee, Tee Jing Yi has been found to be injured...only if we receive a confirmation on the (full extent) of the injury would we be allowed to submit a replacement candidate.

“It is too early to make a decision, we do not know if her injury is long-term or if she can recover as soon as possible. If we go according to the ranking, Goh Jin Wei is the nearest (to Jing Yi),” he said.

Apart from Jing Yi, the national badminton squad has qualified on merit for the Olympics in all events contested in the sport, namely through badminton ace Datuk Lee Chong Wei for the men’s singles, men’s doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong, Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (mixed doubles) and Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei (women’s doubles).

Jing Yi had to withdraw from contesting in the final stage of the First National Circuit due to the injury.

If fit, she would be making her second appearance at the Olympics in Rio, after qualifying for the Games in London in 2012. — Bernama