Ng Tze Yong will finally get an opportunity to put good form and added preparation to the test as he carries Malaysia’s hopes in the men’s singles main draw at the Swiss Open.
Ng last featured at the Asia Team Championships (ATC), and did well to give the country winning points against South Korea and Indonesia for the championship title.
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The world number 46 was initially scheduled to compete at the German Open, but skipped it at the last time to nurse a minor injury.
Ng was supposed to start his Swiss Open campaign from the qualifying stage, but a spate of withdrawals meant he is promoted to a first-round clash against Germany’s Fabian Roth.
Should he win, an intriguing second round tie against Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie awaits.
In the women’s singles, S.Kisona is the sole representative and she takes on a local qualifier in the first round.
Like Ng, she is expected to clear the first round hurdle but will most likely come up against India’s Saina Nehwal in the second round.
Unlike the men’s singles that has top stars like Viktor Axelsen and Anthony Ginting, the women’s singles is void of many big names except for Saina and her national team-mate P. V. Sindhu.
The men’s doubles represents an opportunity for Malaysian pairs to pose a serious threat for the title.
Of the lot, second seeds Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will be desperate to bounce back after a crushing second-round loss at the All-England last week.
The pair have not been at their best this year, struggling against lower ranked opponents at the ATC, before they missed the German Open after Soh was ruled out with COVID-19.
They play a qualifier in the first round, and could face China’s He Ji Ting-Zhou Hao Dong after that.
German Open champions Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin are also in the fray and take on a Danish pair.
The Malaysians would have welcomed their first round exit at last week’s All England Open to make way for some recuperation, especially after Izzuddin injured his leg at the German Open final.
Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, meanwhile, have a tricky first round clash against French pair Christo-Toma Junior Popov.
Three Malaysian mixed doubles pairs – Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai – meanwhile cleared their first round hurdles on Tuesday.
Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See could not compete after Cheah tested positive for COVID-19.
