Tze Yong faces tough process in regaining confidence

PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong will need time to regain his old confidence after enduring a frustrating year.

Tze Yong has yet to return to full training after undergoing two back surgeries in February and April and has been ruled out of all remaining competitions this year.

National coaching director Rexy Mainaky said that the coaches have an important role of motivating the 24-year-old to regain his confidence.

Tze Yong will likely return to tournaments at the earliest in January next year.

“The target is for Tze Yong to compete again in January. He has tried everything (to get back to full fitness) and his condition has improved a lot but his confidence in himself is not back to normal yet,” said Rexy.

“This is a tough process and the coaches need to motivate him and help him regain his self confidence.

“It’s been a long time since he went through high intensity training and this will definitely have an effect. For now, he still can’t train fully.

“We will keep following the advice of the physiotherapist on (when he can return to full training).”

Tze Yong first injured his lower back in the first round of the Malaysian Open in January.

He tried to make a return in the Asia Team Championships in February but could only play one match before the injury recurred.

Tze Yong was then forced to go under the knife and had to miss the Paris Olympics.

One thing that Tze Yong does not need to worry about is his ranking dropping due to his long absence from tournaments.

He was granted a ranking protection by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in May and will be able to enter tournaments with his locked ranking of No. 18 once he is back to full fitness.

The protected ranking period will stand for 12 months, after which it will no longer be in force.

Players can request for protected rankings due to injuries or other circumstances when it’s impossible for them to compete in any tournament for at least three months or a maximum of 12 months.