National men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong will be out to make an impression at this year’s Malaysia Open (Jan 10-15), aiming to make one of his New Year wishes come true by progressing beyond the early rounds.

Ng crashed out in the opening rounds in several events last year, including at last year’s Malaysia Open when he lost to Lu Guang Zu in a tightly contested three-game encounter.

This year, it will be all about clearing his first hurdle against Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen.

“One of my targets this year is to avoid losing in the early rounds. It will be challenging at the Malaysia Open as all the top shuttlers will be there, but I will be out to give it my best shot.

“I am quite excited to play in front of the home fans and I am ready for the challenge. I think my stamina has improved well, and it will be a test to see how I can perform in a tournament of this level,” Ng told Stadium Astro.

Despite a flurry of early round exits last year, the world number 28 ended the year strongly by reaching the semis of the Australian Open, before he finished as champion at the Bahrain International.

Men’s doubles pair Tee Kai Wun-Man Wei Chong, meanwhile, will go into their showdown against second seeds Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon with an open mind.

“We have to be prepared to contain their attacks, especially at the front court.

“At the same time, we must also rely on our own offensive strengths to get the points. Our target is to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics and we will do our best to achieve that target,” said last year’s Chinese Taipei champions.

There will be several international shuttlers arriving early to train at the Academy Badminton Malaysia ahead of the Super 1000 season opener next week.

Among them are world number six mixed doubles French pair Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue, who are expected to arrive on Wednesday.