KUALA LUMPUR – In an ideal world, the new Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) singles head coach would be able to speed up national men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong’s return to competitive action.
However, ABM coaching director Rexy Mainaky does not want to rush Tze Yong’s comeback, especially as he is still recovering after undergoing two back surgeries.
Tze Yong, 24, has had limited action this year after sustaining an injury at the Malaysia Open in January. A complication following his first surgery worsened his condition, leaving the Johor-born player sidelined for the rest of the year, although his ranking is protected by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“Ideally, we hope the new singles head coach, with their experience, can help Tze Yong return to action at the Malaysia Open. However, we are dealing with a sensitive back injury, so we don’t want to push it.
“I met Tze Yong yesterday, and he told me that there is still a cyst in his lower back, but it isn’t causing him any pain.
“His main issue now is that his legs are not strong enough, and he has been working hard on strengthening them.
“It’s crucial that the cyst doesn’t affect his nerves, as that’s what causes a lot of pain. One solution is for Tze Yong to strengthen his legs, so he doesn’t have to rely so heavily on his lower back,” Rexy said when met today.
According to the former Olympic and world champion, Tze Yong has been making positive progress every day and is gradually increasing his training intensity.
“He’s not yet pushing at 100%, but he’s gradually increasing the intensity in training. So far, he’s not experiencing any pain, which is positive feedback to me,” added Rexy.
Earlier, Rexy announced that it is only a matter of days before the national body reveals the new singles head coach. He also mentioned that the new coach could start as early as this month.
It is understood that the new singles head coach could be either former Danish national team head coach Kenneth Jonassen, Indonesia’s Mulyo Handoyo – who led Taufik Hidayat to Olympic gold in 2004 – or South Korea’s Kim Ji-hyun, who guided India’s P.V. Sindhu to the 2019 World Championship gold. – October 8, 2024