Angus gives thumbs-up on Choong Hann’s lead role in Hong Kong

PETALING JAYA: Wong Choong Hann (pic) will begin his new role as head coach of the Hong Kong Badminton Association with a spring in his step after guiding Angus Ng Ka Long to the men’s single title in the Macau Open.

The former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) singles coaching director was promoted from his position as men’s singles coach in Hong Kong to head coach after a little more than a year.

Choong Hann will officially start his duty today.

The 47-year-old guided Angus to his first title this year after the latter beat Singapore’s Jason Teh 21-19, 21-17 in the final in Macau on Sunday.

“I’m thankful for this opportunity to head Hong Kong badminton. This approach here is more relaxed compared to the times when I was with BAM,” said Choong Hann.

“I will need time to assess but the focus will be on rebuilding and reforming.

“I’m happy with the men’s singles department, but there are some work that need to be done in other departments.”

The world No. 25 Angus hopes Choong Hann’s appointment will be a good start for Hong Kong.

“Thanks to coach Wong for his guidance. He is about to lead the whole Hong Kong team forward in a new capacity,” said Angus via social media.

“I hope it will be a good start when he takes office.”

Angus had superbly turned around his form after suffering first-round exits in both the Hong Kong and China tourney last month.

The 30-year-old showed that he still has the hunger to succeed after missing out on a spot in the Paris Olympics.

Angus’ best performance before this came in the Thailand Open in May where he finished runner-up to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia.

Besides guiding Angus to the title, Choong Hann also helped world No. 16 Lee Cheuk Yiu reach his first World Tour Super 750 final in the Indian Open in January.

Under Choong Hann, 20-year-old Jason Gunawan has also showed fine improvement by moving up from No. 105 in the beginning of the year to No. 49 in the latest rankings.