KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — Hopes are high on national men’s main singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong to go as far as is possible in the 2022 Australian Open, scheduled to take place in Sydney from November 15-18.

National men’s singles coach, Hendrawan said the mission was important for the world number 34 to achieve his goal of being among the 32 best players in the world by the end of this year.

Hendrawan said Tze Yong has a high chance of participating in any of the world’s Super 1000 tournaments, including the Malaysian Open 2023 slated to be held January 10-15 if he succeeds in becoming one of the world’s 32 best players.

However, the former 2001 world champion admitted that Tze Yong’s path was quite difficult at the Australian Open as he is drawn against the sixth seed from Thailand, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, and is expected to meet Anthony Sinisuka Ginting if the third seeded Indonesian qualifies for the quarter-finals.

"This is a journey that Tze Yong has to go through, he will meet players who are at a level above him. There are times when he plays well and sometimes he will win or cause an upset,” he told reporters after a training session here today.

If Tze Yong does not succeed in advancing to the later stages in Australia, Hendrawan said he will try to send him to the Bahrain International Challenge, that will be held from November 29-December 4, as a contingency plan to collect points to be among the top 32 in the world.

The former Indonesian player said Tze Yong’s pace of play was affected after the training staff focused on strengthening his legs when he returned home with a silver medal in addition to helping the mixed team win gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, last August.

Therefore, he said his side regularly held discussions with Tze Yong to ensure that the Muar-born player’s strength in the upper and lower body could be balanced.

Meanwhile, Hendrawan informed that the participation of Tze Yong and another national player, Leong Jun Hao, in the Bright Up Cup exhibition tournament in Jakarta this Thursday, is the best opportunity for them to gain experience against world-class players.

Besides world number eight Ginting, Asia Badminton Championship 2022 runner-up Jonatan Christie,Malaysian Masters 2022 champion Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo and world number 25, Sitthikom Thammasin from Thailand, are scheduled to take part in the one-day tournament.

Hendrawan at the same time hopes that Jun Hao will be among the world’s 50 best players by the end of the year compared to his current position of 72. — Bernama