KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — National men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong is on the right track to shine at the Malaysia Open 2023 after ending the season in style by winning the Bahrain International Challenge on Sunday (December 4).
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching director Wong Choong Hann said the preparation undertaken by the world number 27 shuttler has produced positive results ahead of the Malaysia Open 2023, which was upgraded to a Super 1000 event by Badminton World Federation (BWF) in June.
“Tze Yong has just broken into the world top 30 and will play in Super 1000 tournaments, so mentally he must prepare himself to face all types of opponents.
“BAM are satisfied with his progress this year and believe that if Tze Yong stays focused and committed, he can continue to improve. His training programme is also on the right track,” Choon Hann told reporters at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) today, adding that Tze Yong is continuing his training under coach Hendrawan
Choong Hann, however, said that the BAM coaches will not set any targets for Tze Yong in the Malaysia Open 2023, which will be held at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil from January 10-15, for fear of putting too much pressure on the shuttler.
Tze Yong defeated Taiwan’s Kuo Kuan-lin 21-15, 20-22, 21-12 in the men’s singles final of the Bahrain International Challenge on Sunday (December 4).
Meanwhile, the 45-year-old Choong Hann said they are focusing on the psychological and mental aspects of Tze Yong’s training to make sure he will be ready to give a good fight to his opponents.
In the Malaysia Open 2022 in June, Tze Yong, who was fielded from a list of reserve players in the Super 750 BWF Tour series, crashed out 16-21, 23-21, 18-21 to China’s Lu Guang Zu in the first round.
Undaunted, Tze Yong bounced back from that setback to win silver in men’s singles and play a key role in helping Malaysia wrest the gold medal from India in the mixed team event at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The 22-year-old was also part of the men’s team who ended Indonesia’s domination by winning their maiden Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) title in Shah Alam in February.
— Bernama
