[UPDATED] Tze Yong secures men’s Asia Team C’ships title for M’sia

SHAH ALAM – After the winning performance of national shuttlers Lee Zii Jia and doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the men’s Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) 2022 final here today, dynamic shuttler Ng Tze Yong took just 47 minutes to successfully help the national squad clinch the title for Malaysia by overcoming Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay 21-14, 21-15 in a superb display of “Malaysia Memang Boleh”.

Unperturbed by his recent recovery from Covid-19, the singles player managed to bring down Indonesia to award Malaysia its third point and the nation’s first-ever men’s BATC title since the biennial tournament began in 2016.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect to win but my teammates gave me such a confidence boost by scoring two points earlier that I was inspired to go out there and give my best,” said the 21-year-old.

“To ensure that I had control of the game, I just followed what coach (Wong Choong Hann) told me not to do, which is don’t smash too much,” Tze Yong said to the media soon after he celebrated Malaysia’s win with the national team. 

He added that their achievement today had increased his confidence for the upcoming Thomas Cup tournament in May.

The young shuttler also aims to earn a spot in the badminton world top 30 by this year.

Earlier, Tze Yong’s teammates Aaron-Wooi Yik gave their all in a nail-biting 56-minute match as the duo managed to overcome Indonesian pair Leo Rolly Carnando-Daniel Marthin 17-21, 21-13, 21-18 in a three-set spectacle that kept many fans on the edge of their seats.

Moreover, the Malaysian players have never lost to the Indonesians in both their previous meetings last year – the first at the Toyota Thailand Open and the second at the Yonex Swiss Open.

“Compared to our game yesterday, we just focused on our form instead of whether we’d lose or win,” said 25-year-old Aaron.

“If we want to win, we should dare to lose also – we kept reminding ourselves of that.”

Wooi Yik added that communication was key to their success but not without admitting that there were some errors made as well.

“This may not be our best game yet as our opponents caught up really quickly – thankfully, we managed to get through,” said the 24-year-old.

“But we were also nervous and found ourselves drifting off at times on the court so it was crucial to stay focused.”

Malaysia got off to a flying start when national ace shuttler Lee Zii Jia overcame Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the opening match of the men’s BATC final to garner the first point for the country.

The 24-year-old took down his opponent with a thrilling 14-21, 21-12, 21-10 win in 50 minutes.

“I admit that I was off to a rough start in the first set but thankfully, I managed to get to control my game in the second and third set,” he said to the media after his jubilant win.

The last time Zee Jia went head-to-head with Chico Aura was four years ago in the 2018 Yonex Chinese Taipei Open where the Malaysian shuttler had to also endure a three-set match to defeat the spirited Indonesian. – The Vibes, February 20, 2022