KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian coach Wong Tat Meng is optimistic that he will be able to train two men’s singles players in Hong Kong – Ng Ka Long and Lee Cheuk Yiu – to be among the top 10 players in the world.
Tat Meng, who had previously served as the women’s singles coach under the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), however, said the matter was not a key performance indicator (KPI) set by his employers, but rather a personal target.
Recruited as Hong Kong’s main men’s singles coach, Tat Meng has five players under his care, including Ka Long and Cheuk Yiu.
“I think they (Ka Long, Cheuk Yiu) have good potential, otherwise I wouldn’t want to go there (Hong Kong).
“So I thought I could help them climb up (in their rankings), as I know Ka Long was a top 10 player before this but now he is ranked 13, then Cheuk Yiu (ranked 15th) is coming up, so I hope I can make both of them reach the top 10,” he said when met recently.
Tat Meng was one of the key characters who led the South Korean women’s squad to the Uber 2022 Cup at the Impact Arena in Thailand last month.
South Korea beat defending champions China, 3-2, to clinch the Uber Cup for the second time in history after first winning it in 2010.
Meanwhile, the 55-year-old coach shared that he actually got two offers from Asian countries, but eventually chose to sign a contract with Hong Kong until 2024.
“I feel the atmosphere in Hong Kong is more suitable, and the living environment is more important to me,” he said. – Bernama
