PETALING JAYA: Ng Tze Yong will have to start from scratch after opting to turn independent following his decision to leave the national team.
Besides having to secure his own sponsorship, the men’s singles shuttler will also have to rebuild his career after dropping out of the world rankings following more than a year on the sidelines.
His last ranking, on May 19, was No. 511 in the world.
The 26-year-old has already secured a new training base and will work with former national player Soong Joo Ven, who was also his senior in the national team.
The former Commonwealth Games silver medallist said he was not ready to train alongside fellow independent Lee Zii Jia just yet, as he is still some way off his peak condition.
“I’m currently training at only 40 to 50 per cent intensity and I still have plenty of work to do before training alongside Zii Jia,” said Tze Yong.
“I don’t think my training intensity is at the level needed to train with Zii Jia yet. I’ll keep improving and hopefully we can train together one day,” he added.
Tze Yong said he was in no rush to return to competition, saying his priority was to make a full recovery from the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that has kept him out since May last year.
“Of course, if I had a choice, I’d want to come back as soon as possible. But I need to respect my body. I can’t ignore any signals it gives me.
“I just have to keep training and, as long as I’m continuing to make progress, I’m happy to take it one step at a time.
“I hope I can return soon, but returning to tournaments and returning to my best are two different things. It may take time, we just don’t know,” said Tze Yong.
