Experience will be Ng’s best teacher as he plots rise in world rankings

PETALING JAYA: Young and eager to learn, Ng Tze Yong (pic) can only get better with experience, says national coaching director Wong Choong Han as the men’s singles shuttler gears up for the Asian Championships in the Philippines (April 26-May 1) and Thomas Cup in Bangkok (May 8-15).

Tze Yong, who is currently ranked 44th in the world, had hoped to bounce back in the recent Korean Open after his second-round loss to Indonesia’s Asian Games champion Jonathan Christie in the Swiss Open.

But he found the going tough against Weng Hongyang and bowed out in the quarter-finals to the Chinese, who surprisingly beat Christie in the final to capture the title.

Despite the two losses, Choong Han is sure that Tze Yong will come good with more exposure.

“Overall, his performance in the Korean Open was decent. For now, he needs to gain more experience from his encounters with different players’ styles and strengths. He has to find his footing and grow from there,” explained Choong Han.

Tze Yong has been showing tremendous promise with his performances, with one of the highlights being in the Asian Team Championships in February where he delivered the winning point in the final against Indonesia’s Ikhsan Rumbay.

The 21-year-old also caught the eye when he reached the semi-finals of the India Open in January, before going down fighting to eventual winner Lakhsya Sen.

Tze Yong will next look to raise his performance levels starting from the Asian Championships.

He has a daunting task right from the beginning after being drawn to face India’s 11th ranked K. Srikanth in the opening round.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian women’s singles department received some cheers after youngster Myisha Khairul won her first senior international title by defeating another upcoming player Siti Nurshuhaini Azman in the final of the Dutch International on Saturday.

Myisha was delighted after winning a tight battle 21-19, 18-21, 21-19 in an hour and five minutes.

“I will take this win as motivation for me to go further in my career. I hope to keep the momentum going in my next tournaments,” said the 19-year-old.

Nurshuhaini, on the other hand, was thankful that she managed a podium finish and has vowed to work harder in her upcoming tournaments.

Both players will now turn their attention to the Asian Championships.

The other women’s singles players chosen for the competition are S. Kisona and Tan Zhing Yi.

Myisha and Nurshuhaini will also be making their debuts in the Uber Cup Finals and Hanoi SEA Games (May 12-23).