KUALA LUMPUR: Injury-prone shuttler Anna Cheong is keeping her fingers crossed that she will receive a clean bill of health to play in the Malaysia Open at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil from Jan 9-14.
The 25-year-old has already recovered from a right leg injury sustained last month but remains doubtful for the US$1.3 million (RM5.97m) Super 1000 event.
When met after a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) today, Anna was non-committal when asked about her participation with Teoh Mei Xing in the World Tour season-opener.
"My condition is getting better, and I'm able to undergo full training. I feel good for now," said Anna.
"But there's still a gap of time between now and the tournament, so I can'
t be so certain of my participation yet.
"I think I will only get the nod to compete if I regain my full fitness, otherwise, it's a no-go. It all depends on my condition.
"There's no point competing if I'm not able to go all out and give my best.
"The last thing I want is to experience pain during the match and retire midway through."
Anna made a return at the World Championships in August after a lengthy 11-month layoff due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
With Mei Xing, the pair managed to compete in seven tournaments until Anna hurt her right leg, which led them to retire in the first round of the Kumamoto Masters in Japan last month.
To the duo's credit, they worked their way up the world rankings from No. 251 to end the year at No. 64.
Prior to the injury setback, Anna-Mei Xing were once ranked as high as world No. 17 and were the winners of the Syed Modi International.
Anna will be hoping that she won't miss another chance to compete in front of home fans for the second successive year after missing this year's edition in January.
Anna-Mei Xing have got a tough opening hurdle as they are drawn against second seeds Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee of South Korea.
The other two Malaysian women's pairs in the fray are Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien.