KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — National men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong is bracing himself for some long and exhausting matches as he gets ready to make his first appearance on merit in the 2023 Malaysia Open, which will be held at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil from January 10 to January 15.
The 22-year-old world number 25 is drawn to open his campaign against world number 28 Nhat Nguyen of Ireland and the Malaysian is expecting it to be full of long rallies.
As such, Tze Yong has come up with the right strategy with his coach Hendrawan to counter the threat posed by the Irish player, who is now coached by former Malaysian professional shuttler Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin.
“I admit that every player has his own style of play, so we have to wait until match day to see the game plan they come up with.
“I feel that nowadays the top players prefer to play long rallies and that’s why I am expecting a long match,” he told reporters after his training session here today.
Should Tze Yong beat his Irish opponent, he will find himself up against national singles ace Lee Zii Jia in the second round.
Earlier, Tze Yong, who won the Bahrain International Challenge last month, was appointed as the ambassador of Malaysia’s number one isotonic drink, 100PLUS, for a two-year period until 2024.
— Bernama
