National pole vaulter Rachel Yang has been granted a deadline extension to respond to a letter issued by the lawyer of Singapore Athletics' (SA) sports development and performance manager Ong Wan Xin.

Yang, 35, had been issued a lawyer's letter last Friday requesting that she retract her comments about Ong posted on social media and sent via e-mail.

The 36-year-old Ong had alleged that Yang's statements harmed her character and reputation.

A lawyer from Edmond Pereira Law Corporation, the firm representing Ong, told The Straits Times that the deadline for Yang to respond had been on Wednesday.

"Her lawyers replied to us (on Wednesday) and requested an extension, so we granted them some time and extended the deadline to Sept 29," added the lawyer, who did not want to be named.

Yang, who won a bronze medal at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games last month and is preparing for April's Commonwealth Games, declined comment when contacted. ST understands that a clause in Ong's letter advises Yang against speaking to the media about the matter.

In July, a post on Yang's Facebook page criticised a staff member at the SA secretariat for "exhibiting negligence". Although she did not name the official, she referred to the staff member as the "Sports and Development Manager".

A month earlier, Yang had been stranded at Hong Kong International Airport after she and her coach David Yeo - who is also her husband - could not board their flight as no prior arrangements had been made for her equipment to be checked in.

Yang had been competing in the Hong Kong Inter-City Athletics Championships, where she won gold. Ong did not respond to requests for comment by press time.