BIRMINGHAM: Who would have thought the last-minute inclusion of national top men’s singles shuttler, Ng Tze Yong into the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games squad would pay huge dividends here?
As a debutant, Tze Yong had done the unthinkable by claiming silver in the individual event after going down to India’s number one player, Lakshya Sen, 21-19, 9-21, 16-21, and Malaysians hoped he could carry his red-hot form into the World Championships from Aug 21-28 in Tokyo, Japan.
Earlier, Tze Yong replaced professional men’s singles ace, Lee Zii Jia, following the latter’s withdrawal from the Games.
“I did not expect to win (silver medal), honestly I am happy with this Commonwealth Games because I feel I am in top form here.
“I am not sure whether I could do so (maintain performance) in the next tournament but I do hope to carry this good run into my first World Championships as I believe this silver medal will definitely motivate me to compete in Japan,” he told reporters when met after the medal ceremony here, today.
World number 42, Tze Yong also hopes to improve his stamina apart from playing against top-ranked players next in a bid to gain more experience playing at the high-intensity level.
In the meantime, the 22-year-old player had set his sights to break into the top 30 by the end of this year.
The Johorean, on the other hand, said helping Malaysia to wrest the gold medal from India after winning 3-1 last Tuesday, was indeed a memorable achievement here apart from stepping into second place on the podium in National Exhibition Centre Hall 5, here.
Meanwhile, Tze Yong thanked Malaysians who rallied behind him through ups and downs as well as the coaches and his family members for their undying support.
Despite the loss, Tze Yong deserved a pat on his back following his amazing performance here including scoring two upset wins against the world’s top players en route to the final.
Tze Yong stunned reigning world champion, Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 15-21, 21-14, 21-11 in the quarter-finals last Saturday, and India’s Srikanth Kidambi, ranked 13th best, 13-21, 21-19, 21-10 in the semis yesterday (Aug 7). - Bernama
