PETALING JAYA: National women’s singles shuttler Wong Ling Ching is out to impress in her debut SEA Games in Cambodia from May 5-17.
Ling Ching, who only joined the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) last October, has been selected for the team event and wants to justify the faith shown in her by her coaches.
“This will be my first SEA Games and I’m happy to be selected. I will go all out to win points for my team,” said Ling Ching.
The other women’s singles players included are Siti Nurshuhaini Azman, Tan Zhing Yi and Ong Xin Yee.
Ling Ching has already caught the eye in team events when she gave a gutsy performance against India’s 2019 world champion P. V. Sindhu in a crucial group tie in the Asian Mixed Team Championships in Dubai last month.
World No. 156 Ling Ching, who was surprisingly given the nod to start ahead of the country’s top women’s singles player Goh Jin Wei (No. 31), fought hard before going down 13-21, 17-21 to Sindhu.
“It was really a good experience for me to compete in the Asian team meet,” she said.
“I learned a lot from my match against Sindhu and also during training sessions with Jin Wei while preparing for the tournament.
“My coach, James Chua, told me that I needed to be more patient to do better in the match.’’
Ling Ching acknowledged that she had a long way to go to bridge the gap between her and the world’s top players but is determined to do so eventually.
“If you see players like Sindhu and Jin Wei, they are very experienced after playing in so many matches against a variety of opponents.
“This is where I’m lacking and where I need to improve on.
“Coach James, though, has told me to take it slowly.”
The youngster’s next assignment will be the Vietnam International Challenge in Hanoi from March 21-26.
