Golden opportunity for Tze Yong to end year with title

PETALING JAYA: National men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong has a golden opportunity to end the year with a title at the Bahrain International Challenge which starts today.

Tze Yong is the top seed in the tournament and thus, the favourite to win the title.

It might not be a top-tier competition but a win will give the 22-yearold a boost and enable him to end what has been a breakthrough year on a high.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) high performance director Dr Tim Jones feels that reaching the final is the minimum requirement for Tze Yong.

“Based on Tze Yong’s top seeding in this event, we should expect him to be getting to the final at least. It will give him valuable ranking points and put him in a good position for next year,” said Jones.

Tze Yong had climbed four rungs from No. 33 to No. 29 in the world rankings last week.

In Bahrain, Tze Yong’s main threat could be second seed B. Sai Praneeth of India, who he could meet in the final.

The 22-year-old will open his campaign against India’s Sathish Kumar.