Goh Liu Ying has all the fame and popularity and success in the badminton world but her success has paid a heavy price.

She revealed two days back that she still needs to do “maintenance” of her knees which went under the knife in 2014.

Her right knee had a meniscus tear and a partial ligament tear, and her left knee was also carrying a small meniscus tear. Even though knee injuries are fairly common in badminton, it is not so common to have surgeries done on both knees.

She underwent 11 months of intensive rehabilitation before she could win the silver medal at the Rio Olympics with her doubles partner Chan Peng Soon.

Her knees, however, have never been the same after the surgeries. She regularly needs fluids injected into her knees to keep them lubricated and healthy. This has become her “routine”.

Goh Liu Ying getting an injection in her knee

Goh wrote on her social media, “The fluid is injected into my knee joints. This is quite normal for the elderly as the cushion between bones is getting thinner and thinner, you will need some lubricants to avoid bones rubbing each other (aka synovial fluid cushion).

“Ever since my knee surgery 7 years ago, my body condition is no longer as perfect as it was. Therefore, the fluid that our body generates naturally is wearing off faster than it can produce. Therefore it regularly requires maintenance.”

There is no permanent cure for her condition. She also has no idea whether she would need to keep doing this routine for the rest of her life.

But she has taken the condition in her stride and remains to be Malaysia’s best mixed doubles player. She is currently ranked 7th in the world with Chan Peng Soon in BWF world rankings.

After every injection, the doctor always advises her to stay away from the gym and take some rest. But we all know what happens next. Although she always tells her doctor “yaassss okkkiiieee”.

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