Tze Yong dropped, Hon Jian takes over in Thomas Cup

World No. 18 Ng Tze Yong (left), who is still recovering from back surgery, will be replaced in the Thomas Cup by doubles player Choong Hon Jian.

KUALA LUMPUR: The national badminton squad faces a significant setback in the 2024 Thomas Cup as Ng Tze Yong has been forced to skip the finals in Chengdu, China, due to injury.

Ng will be replaced by doubles player Choong Hon Jian, Bernama reported.

Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky said the decision to drop Ng was made at a meeting yesterday.

“We dropped him because he is not in a position to play. This decision was made after thorough discussions involving the coaches and management.

“We selected Choong based on discussions with the doubles and singles coaches as well as the management,” he told reporters at ABM in Bukit Kiara here today.

On Tuesday, Rexy said that world number 18 Ng would undergo an MRI scan to determine whether he was fit to play. Ng sustained a back injury during the 2024 Asia Team Championships in Shah Alam in February and underwent surgery.

Meanwhile, Rexy said the national players are currently in a positive state to compete in China and hoped that Choong, 23, would join the central training camp at ABM promptly to foster team cooperation.

“People see that our team is in disarray, but we have shown that we remain focused and this training camp is progressing smoothly… and I think this might be an opportunity (for Choong and his partner Muhammad Haikal Nazri). They are excited about the opportunity given,” he said.

Rexy also said that doubles player Soh Wooi Yik had been appointed as team captain for the upcoming team badminton championship, scheduled from April 27 to May 5 in Chengdu.

Asked about the country’s chances of overcoming Hong Kong in the first round, Rexy said the players needed to exercise caution when facing challenging opponents.

However, he expressed confidence in the squad’s ability to secure victory, predicting a 3-2 or 4-1 outcome.

“Yes, indeed, playing against Hong Kong is quite challenging… if we can get past Hong Kong, it means one foot is already in the quarter-finals.

“We are relying on two individuals, with Lee Zii Jia and Jun Hao stepping up as the second player (after Ng was dropped),” he said.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia previously listed Lee Zii Jia, Leong Jun Hao, Cheam June Wei, Justin Hoh, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, Muhammad Haikal Nazri, and recently Choong, to bring the nation’s challenge to the 2024 Thomas Cup.

Malaysia, seeded fifth in the Thomas Cup, are drawn in Group D with European champions and 2016 edition winners Denmark, Hong Kong and Algeria.