Malaysian badminton were dealt a shock on Monday after national women's doubles shuttler Chow Mei Kuan tendered in a shock resignation to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).

The national body announced the news after receiving her resignation.

"BAM has today accepted the resignation letter of Chow Mei Kuan effective 15 September 2021.

"Despite efforts to persuade the 26-year-old, Mei Kuan has reached the decision to retire from the sport. Everyone at BAM expresses their gratitude to Mei Kuan for her immense contribution to the national team and wishes her all the best," the national body said in a statement.

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The news certainly came as a shock, especially after Chow and partner Lee Meng Yean gave a good account of themselves at the Tokyo Olympics.

Chow-Mei lost two of their opening matches to gold medalists Greysia Polli-Apriyani Rahayu and top seeds Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota, but ended their campaign by beating English pair Chloe Birch-Lauren Smith.

They also also done well earlier in the year to reach three semi-finals at the Swiss Open, 2020 World Tour Finals and Thailand Open 2.