Men's singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong is upbeat about his chances of making his competitive return in April after two back surgeries.
PETALING JAYA: Men's singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong is feeling positive about the chances of making his competitive return in April.
Tze Yong, who had to undergo two back surgeries, last played in the Asia Team Championships a year ago and has dropped to No. 269 in the latest world rankings.
The 24-year-old needs to play at least one tournament in April to safeguard his protected ranking of No. 18 or face having to start again in lower-tier competitions.
Tze Yong believes he is progressing well in training and hopes to return to tournaments before the end of April.
"I returned to full training last Monday and I'm feeling positive as I can at least get back on the court," he said after a training session at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara on Friday (Feb 14).
"I'm training three times a week and undergoing strength and conditioning sessions at the National Sports Institute (NSI) on the other days.
"I feel I'm getting better. I am at about 60% now and my target is to return to competitions in April so that I can still use my protected ranking. I'm ready to make my comeback."
Tze Yong is staying cautious, however, and hopes to train more first.
"I only train about one hour now and only on alternate days, so I still need to be careful as I have to play every day in tournaments.
"I have been having positive talks with coach Kenneth (Jonassen) and we want to avoid overtraining. I can only fully gauge my condition when I'm able to train every day," he said.
Tze Yong also believes that he is slowly overcoming the trauma of his back injuries after a tough year for him.
"I still love to play badminton and this has been my biggest motivation.
"I don't feel pain in my back anymore but after some hard training, my body feels sore. I'm not used to it yet but I will be able to adapt.
"When there's no pain, I don't feel the trauma of my injuries. When I'm able to train for one month, the trauma should go away," he added.
