KUALA LUMPUR: The dream of qualifying for the Paris Olympics might be slipping away, but Malaysian men's doubles Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi still have plenty to play for.
Having faced several injury setbacks in the last few months, the world No. 12 pair will return to competitive action this week as the top seeds at the German Open in Mulheim.
Coached by former international Rosman Razak, Yew Sin-Ee Yi will face France's Eloi Adam-Leo Rossi in the opening round.
When contacted by Timesport today, Rosman said: "As you know, the (knee) injury sustained by Ee Yi has pretty much hampered our progress in the last few months.
"Truthfully, we turned down the offer to be part of the BATC (Badminton Asia Team Championships) team to focus on his recovery.
"So far, it is looking very positive, but we will only know for sure when they get on court and play.
"Right now, Yew Sin-Ee Yi are playing to get back to their best. Everything else will fall into place when that happens."
From being prospects to make the cut for the Olympics in July, the independent duo have fallen behind the pecking order after dropping out of the top eight on the Race to Paris standings.
A country can have a maximum of two pairs at the Olympics if they are in the top eight at the end of the one-year qualifying period in April.
To date, former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik appear to be the only Malaysian men's doubles pair who look set to make the trip to Paris, while Yew Sin-Ee Yi are eight rungs below them at No. 13 on the RTP list.
Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi have only played in three World Tour events so far this season. Their best result was reaching the quarter-finals of the Petronas Malaysia Open in January.
