April 26, 2023
PETALING JAYA – Seize the opportunity!
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) high performance director Dr Tim Jones has urged national men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong to take no prisoners in the ongoing Asian Championships in Dubai.
The Asian meet is the last tournament before the one-year qualifying period for the 2024 Paris Olympics kicks off next month.
Jones wants Tze Yong, who is currently ranked No. 25 in the world, to do well in Dubai to give himself a boost before the race to Paris begins in earnest.
“The Asian Championships is a Super 1000 level competition, so this is a good opportunity for Tze Yong to collect some valuable ranking points before the Olympics qualification starts,” said Jones.
“We have gone through in detail the points required for him to break into the top 16 to qualify for the Olympics and he needs to aim to reach at least the quarter-finals in every tournament he competes in to stand a good chance of making the cut.
“Of course he can’t do this every time as his performances are bound to be a bit up and down.“The statistics last year showed that even players in the top 16 were eliminated in the first round in about once in three to five tournaments.
“While Tze Yong needs to target the latter stages of tournaments, our expectations on him should be on par with the above.”
Tze Yong is bracing himself for a hectic schedule after the Asian meet, with the Sudirman Cup (May 14-21) and Malaysian Masters (May 23-28) also lined up for him.
The 22-year-old is set to face Hong Kong’s world No. 20 Lee Cheuk Yiu today in the first round in Dubai.
A win will see Tze Yong face either last year’s runner-up Jonatan Christie (No. 3) of Indonesia or China’s world No. 10 Shi Yuqi in the second round.
Meanwhile, independent player and world No. 4 Zii Jia will begin his title defence against Cheuk Yiu’s compatriot Angus Ng Ka Long (No. 17) today.