PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Ng Tze Yong believes he is going in the right direction ahead of the Asian Games in Hangzhou from Sept 23-Oct 8 after an encouraging outing in the Hong Kong Open.
Tze Yong had reached his first World Tour semi-finals this year in Kowloon after losing in the last eight six times previously.
The 23-year-old had given eventual champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia a good fight before going down 19-21, 23-21, 13-21 in the last four.
“The signs are I’m on the right track,” said Tze Yong in an interview with Spotv Malaysia.
“I’m quite satisfied with my performance in this tournament but there are still areas where I need to improve.
“I felt I was not fast enough in the third game (against Jonatan).
Tze Yong acknowledged that he needs to raise his performance again in the Asiad which is set to feature all the top players in the world except Denmark’s world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen and world No. 10 Anders Antonsen.
“It’s a new tournament and I need to be ready,” said Tze Yong.
The world No. 20 will be competing in only his second multi-sports event after the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in August last year.
Tze Yong can take heart from his showing in Birmingham where he rose to the occasion to win a gold (mixed team) and a silver (individual).
He will be joined by world No. 16 Lee Zii Jia, Leong Jun Hao (No. 42) and Cheam June Wei (No. 50) in the men’s team while he will play in the individual with Zii Jia.
Ranking points towards qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics will be on offer in the Games and a good showing could boost Tze Yong and Zii Jia’s chances of making the cut if both remain in the top 16 by end of the qualification date.
