KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — National men’s singles shuttler, Ng Tze Yong should be more careful in dealing with his rehabilitation and recovery, as back-related injuries tend to recur.

Olympic Council of Malaysia’s (OCM) Medical and Anti-doping Committee chairman, Datuk Dr SS Cheema said that back injuries are unpredictable.

“Once you get it, recurrence is quite high,” he told Bernama.

The 23-year-old shuttler’s Olympic dream is hanging by a thread after sustaining a lower back muscle injury during the Malaysian Open last month, followed by spinal issue during the Badminton Asia Team Championship (BATC), recently.

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A country can only have two representatives in the singles event, if both the players are ranked among the top 16 in the Race to Paris rankings by end of the qualification period which is April 28.

Independent professional player Lee Zii Jia is currently ranked 10th, while Tze Yong is in 15th place, but the risk of slipping down the leaderboard is there if he continues to miss playing in the qualifying tournaments.

With the Paris 2024 Olympics is just five months away, Dr Cheema advised all Olympic-bound athletes to be cautious of any untoward incidents, including injuries and freak accidents, which could jeopardise their chances to Paris.

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“It (freak accidents) has happened (to athletes) before, so it is better to be careful than to regret later. It can happen when riding a motorbike, bicycle, falling during training, or at home.

“Athletes need to be prepared both mentally and physically for the Olympics. Always think it is the last Olympic, and you must be prepared to perform your best; who knows, you might have a chance to win a medal,” he said.

Meanwhile, he noted another major concern is doping, mostly due to accidental intake of banned substances.

He added that, although top athletes are well aware of anti-doping rule violations, they tend to get carried away by advice from third parties to take supplements without consulting the National Sports Institute (NSI) officials.

“That is the biggest danger, they should avoid all these supplements unless approved by ISN. You won’t know the real content of the supplements taken to lose weight or boost performance, it has happened many times in other multi-sport events,” he said. — Bernama