Tze Yong says ready for world c’ships in Tokyo

SEPANG: National singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong says he is on track to compete at the World Badminton Championships in Tokyo, which will be held from Aug 22 to 28.

Describing winning silver in his debut at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as his best performance yet, he, however admitted that there were several issues including the aspect of stamina that he needs to improve.

“The time is too short before the tournament, I think I need to discuss first with the coach on what I will focus on in the time left to go to the world championship,” he said when met by reporters after returning from Birmingham at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Wednesday.

Based on the draw issued by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on its website, Tze Yong qualified at the last minute following the withdrawal of players from other countries.

He will open his campaign against Malaysian Masters champion from Indonesia, Chico Aura Dwi Widoyo in the first round.

If he wins, he is expected to face Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama in the second round and world number one Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the third round if he beats Tsuneyama.

In the meantime, the Johorborn athlete hopes that he can maintain his excellent momentum in his debut in the World Championships as he will be up against the world’s most elite shuttlers.

Asked about his target at the prestigious tournament, Tze Yong said he didn’t want to think too much about it but wanted to focus on his match besides being determined to give his best performance.

Tze Yong, who replaced Malaysia’s top singles player Lee Zii Jia in Birmingham, managed to present the country with a silver medal in his debut at the Commonwealth Games.

He had also contributed a gold when Malaysia won the mixed team event.