Tze Yong surprised to be included in Road To Gold programme

Malaysia men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong admitted he didn’t expect to be included in the country's Road To Gold (RTG) programme, but vowed to repay the trust in him by making the cut for Paris Olympics next year.

“I didn’t expect to be included in it, as the requirements initially stated a top 10 world ranking. But this would mean dedicated support for us to qualify for the Olympics.

“For the shuttlers, support service like physios to aid in the recovery process is pivotal during tournaments. Sometimes when there are fewer players in tournaments, there isn’t a physio available.

“But I believe the RTG would have its own dedicated team, and we will receive more support. As for me, the priority is to reach at least the quarter-finals or semi-finals in every tournament in order to make the top 16 to qualify,” he said.

The RTG committee had on Monday announced Ng and mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei in their latest athletes list.

The initial requirements to get into the RTG were that athletes must be in the top 10 world rankings or have won a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but after Monday’s meeting the committee decided to follow the Paris Olympics rankings instead.

The Road to Paris rankings is set to be unveiled soon.

Ng is currently 20th on the world rankings, just seven below Lee Zii Jia who slipped to 13th.

He got there after reaching the quarter-finals four times this year, including big wins over Viktor Axelsen and Chou Tien-chen.

Each country can have two singles shuttlers at the Olympics if they are ranked among the world top 16.

Meanwhile, the Johor-born believes Lee would return to his old self and both of them would make the cut for the Tokyo Olympics.

“I hope both of us will qualify [so] there is a better chance of delivering a medal [for Malaysia],” he added.