KUALA LUMPUR: Just one month in and the race for Olympic qualifying points is already a heated affair.
National women's doubles coach Hoon Thien How today confirmed that Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will play at the Indonesia Open this week.
The participation of the world No 12 pair in the Super 1000 event was earlier in doubt after Pearly sustained an elbow injury at the Singapore Open last week.
Pearly-Thinaah, who reached the final of the Malaysia Masters last month, were forced to retire in the first round of the Super 750 event when they were trailing Japan's Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi 21-13, 17-21, 16-9.
Skipping the Indonesia Open would have been an easy way out, but having already lost ranking points in Singapore, the 2022 French Open champions do not want to let more slip away.
"After arriving in Jakarta yesterday (Sunday), I got them (Pearly-Thinaah) to play a test match.
"Pearly's condition has improved. There isn't much pain anymore.
"However, they are not in their best shape, especially in terms of power.
"But they still want to try and play."
Pearly-Thinaah will face independent compatriots Vivian Hoo and Lim Chiew Sien in the first round at the Istora Senayan.
Barring an upset, Pearly-Thinaah will likely face fifth seeds Zheng Shu Xian-Zheng Yu of China in the second round.
"It is almost impossible to recover so quickly, but Pearly-Thinaah are at about 80 per cent of their full form, so we will see."
Pearly-Thinaah are not the only players seeking to collect ranking points for the Paris Games next year.
Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and two-time former world champion Kento Momota of Japan will play this week after recovering from injuries.