It’s back to training first for Tze Yong as he skips Indonesian Masters

Ng Tze Yong

PETALING JAYA: National men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong will be giving the Indonesian Masters from June 7-12 in Jakarta a miss to give his full focus to training.

The 22-year-old has had a hectic schedule since the end of March with not much time in between for training.

Tze Yong has played in the Swiss Open, Korean Open, Asian Championships in Manila, Thomas Cup Finals in Bangkok and Thailand Open.

Singles coaching director Wong Choong Hann now wants the youngster to rest and prepare well for the Malaysian Masters from July 5-10.

“We have decided to pull him out of the Indonesian Masters to give him time to recover and prepare for the tourney in Malaysia,” said Choong Hann.

“He acknowledges that he needs the extra time to work on the weaknesses in his game.”

Tze Yong, who is currently ranked 48th in the world, might not be able to make the cut for the Malaysian Open (June 28-July 3) which is a higher level than the Malaysian Masters.

Meanwhile, Choong Hann has called for patience after the 22-year-old’s drop in performance after the Asian Team Championships in February.

Tze Yong has not gone past the quarter-final stage in any tournament since winning the team meet.

He was also part of the Thomas Cup team that suffered a shock loss to India.

“He needs time to grow and reach a higher level. We cannot expect results overnight. Even Lee Zii Jia was not firing on all cylinders at Tze Yong’s age. He took time too to become the player he is now,” said Choong Hann.

Choong Hann also pointed out that Tze Yong has not had much exposure against top-level opponents.

“Last year, he was playing mostly in lower-level tournaments like International Challenges. Even when we won the Asian Team Championships this year, he only faced upcoming players as the other countries opted to send their second stringers.

“He needs to play more against world class players to become one himself. And of course, he needs to become physically stronger,” explained Choong Hann.

A good showing at home could just be the right tonic for the promising shuttler to move up the ranks.