Malaysia has always had a string of heroes on the badminton scene. From Dato’ Lee Chong Wei to current world No. 8 player, Lee Zii Jia (李梓嘉), we have no shortage of skilled players. However, former national player Roslin Hashim is of the opinion that we shouldn’t sleep on another athlete.
We’ve had several badminton tournaments since the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Plenty of our national players have shown their skills and mettle for the game. Yet, one of them has stood out among the others to the former national player. Recently, Roslin stated that Malaysia’s men singles player Ng Tze Yong (黄智勇) will be able to become the world champion one day, if he’s nurtured well.
The 46-year-old former No. 1 world ranked player is confident in his assessment. After all, he used to be one of the backbones supporting the Malaysian badminton team. Roslin’s opinion comes after watching Ng’s playstyle, which apparently hints at an amazing talent. The Johor-born national player has been quietly making his mark during the tournaments. From the Tokyo Olympics to the Thomas Cup finals, he has proven himself as an upcoming threat.
His most notable match was against Indonesia’s world No. 7 player Jonatan Christie in the Thomas and Uber Cup finals 2020. Although he lost the game with 21-14, 19-21, and 16-21, he put up a fierce fight. Ng has carried that fire to his following tournaments and pulled through. He recently became the runner-up for the Czech Open 2021 and was crowned champion for the Belgian International 2021 last Saturday (30st October). His performance in the two tournaments have pushed his world ranking from 82nd to 68th.
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Roslin firmly believes Ng has the potential to surpass Lee Zii Jia. “If he’s nurtured well and properly, he’ll be able to go further than Lee Zii Jia,” he was quoted as saying. According to the former player, Ng’s playstyle is more diverse compared to Zii Jia’s. This has given Roslin confidence in Ng. However, he stressed that it is too early to place too-high expectations on Ng. “For now, let him (continue) to accumulate experience,” he advised. “His win in the Belgium Open and runner-up in the Czech Open is a good start to raising his confidence.” Additionally, Roslin stated that what’s important to Ng is the title and being able to win a championship on an international stage.
Roslin’s prediction is certainly setting the stage for Ng to make it to the top. Although he may not be there yet, his journey there will be closely watched. We hope to see Roslin’s prediction come true!
For now, we look forward to seeing his performance in the upcoming Irish Open. We won’t be the only ones as his girlfriend, Canadian shuttle Talia Ng will be supporting him all the way as well.
Sources: China Press, Harian Metro, BWF Badminton
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