With the Thailand SEA Games badminton event set to begin on Sunday, the national camp had a brief scare when women’s singles shuttler Wong Ling Ching came down with fever and flu less than five days before competition.
Several national players reportedly showed similar symptoms earlier, and Ling Ching believes she may have caught the illness from teammate Eng Ler Qi during training.
The timing is worrying for the Sarawak-born shuttler, who still remembers how the same issue disrupted her SEA Games debut in Cambodia in 2023, forcing her to miss the team event.
“I’ve had fever and flu since last week. I’m still training, but the coaches have adjusted the sessions for me,” said Ling Ching.
“I was unwell at the previous SEA Games too, so I really hope I can recover in time for the team event. Everything depends on the coaches — if someone is sick or injured, changes may be made.”
Ling Ching still recalls her disappointment in Cambodia, where she wasn’t fully fit even when the individual event began. She exited in the first round to Thailand’s Lalinrat Chaiwan.
The loss was even harder to take as the women’s team’s 3–0 defeat to the Philippines in the quarter-finals was viewed as a major setback.
“I didn’t have enough time to recover. When I played the individual event, I was still dizzy. This time, I hope to be fully ready.
“My coach didn’t expect me to lose, but after the match, I could only lie in bed. I had no emotion or reaction,” she said.
The national squad travels to Bangkok on Friday. The team event draw will be held on Saturday before competition begins at Thammasat University in Pathum Thani.
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