Early tests: Ng Tze Yong will play China’s Zhao Junpeng (top right) in the first round of the World Championships and may take on Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the second round.
PETALING JAYA: National singles coach Hendrawan’s confidence in Ng Tze Yong is growing by the day.
So don’t be surprised if the 23-year-old justifies his coach’s faith in him by serving up pleasant surprises in his second World Championships campaign from Aug 21-27 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
A wiser Tze Yong will step into unknown territory in the world meet where he will be meeting two established shuttlers – world No. 25 Zhao Junpeng of China and former world No. 2 Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the first two rounds.
And if he overcomes the two obstacles, he may meet compatriot Lee Zii Jia in the third round, if the latter too clears his first two rounds.
The Indonesian coach believes his protege can give any player a run for their money on his good day.
“Tze Yong’s standard has improved and as long as he can fight, it is possible for him to win. Anything can happen,” said Hendrawan.
“His character is such that if he can bring out the best, he can give a fight to any player.”
The Indonesian, who won the 2001 world title, said having not played Junpeng and also his possible second round opponent Antonsen will only make things interesting for the world No. 22 Tze Yong.
Junpeng, despite his lack of results recently, is no slouch as he was a semi-finalist in Tokyo last year.
“In major tournaments like this, we have no choice but to accept the draw,” said Hendrawan.
“Tze Yong’s level is not up there yet to receive a seeding, so he has to be ready to face difficult matches in the first round against Junpeng and possibly Antonsen next.
“So, in the next few days, we need to analyse the performance of these two players first before looking far.
Antonsen, whose career was plagued by injuries over the last couple of years, has returned to form and won the Korean Open in Yeosu last month.
It will be great if Tze Yong can set up a match against Zii Jia but Hendrawan did not want to venture that far.
World No. 13 Zii Jia must clear his first round match against world No. 5 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia before thinking of a rematch against Tze Yong.
Zii Jia’s second round opponent could be Pedro Yang of Canada.
“Previously, there was a gap between them but the Australian Open was a positive result for Tze Yong where he had a close fight against Zii Jia before losing,” added Hendrawan.
“I would rather look at the first two matches first before thinking ahead.”
Tze Yong lost in the second round during his World Championships debut in Tokyo last year.
