PETALING JAYA: Ng Tze Yong’s absence from the preliminary list for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has cast further doubt over the men’s singles shuttler’s future with the national team.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) performance committee chairman Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei said the national body had submitted the preliminary list of players to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) on Wednesday.
However, Tze Yong’s name was not included.
“No (Tze Yong’s name is not in the list). We have a rough idea of the final squad. The coaches have submitted the names of the players, but nothing has been finalised yet.
“We will have a BAM council meeting on Saturday before the final announcement,” said Chong Wei.
Tze Yong has been sidelined since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee in May last year.
Although nearly a year has passed since the setback, the former Commonwealth Games silver medallist has yet to return to competition, despite having resumed on-court training with his teammates.
It will be the second major team event that Tze Yong has missed after also being left out of Malaysia’s Thomas Cup Finals squad in Horsens, Denmark last month.
Independent men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia and men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani are among those expected to spearhead Malaysia’s challenge as the team look to bounce back from their disappointing Thomas Cup Finals campaign in Horsens, where they lost in the quarter-finals.
At the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Malaysia’s men’s team were knocked out in the opening round by South Korea, while the women’s team did not take part.
Former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik ensured Malaysia did not return empty-handed after capturing the bronze medal in the men’s doubles individual event.
