Hendrawan: I am committed to guide Tze Yong to the Paris Olympics
Nicolas Anil
November 27, 2023 14:36 MYT
November 27, 2023 14:36 MYT
National men’s singles chief coach Hendrawan dismissed rumours of him leaving the national association after stressing his mission to help Ng Tze Yong make the cut for the Paris Olympics next year.
“I have a clear mission with Tze Yong. I remain committed to my responsibility of guiding him to the Paris Olympics. The ongoing process is extremely competitive and Tze Yong does not need any distractions at this stage.
“Together, we are determined to achieve our goals,” he said.
Hendrawan, who has been in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) setup since 2009, has done a good job to elevate Ng’s standard in the last two years of working with the shuttler.
As a result, the 23-year-old is well within contention for automatic qualification to Paris next in 11th spot, with the top 16 shuttlers from the same country to receive the ticket to compete at the world’s biggest sporting spectacle.
Hendrawan has so far guided Ng to the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medal, while also seeing him reach his maiden World Tour final at the Arctic Open in October where he lost to former team-mate Lee Zii Jia.
Before Lee left the national setup, Hendrawan also guided him to clinch the All-England title in 2021.
Prior to that, the 51-year-old Indonesian was instrumental in helping Lee Chong Wei bag the silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Hendrawan has previously spoken of his desire to return to Indonesia to continue his coaching career someday.
But as for now, his commitment remains firmly intact with the BAM.
As for now, Hendrawan and Ng will start preparing for next year's big Olympic push, with the first assignment coming at the Malaysia Open in early January.