Rookie Ng Tze Yong learning on the fly on badminton World Tour as Paris 2024 approaches
In his first season at the BWF World Tour level, the Malaysian has put himself in a strong position to qualify for the World Tour Finals. He tells Olympics.com about learning to deal with pressure playing one of Malaysia's most popular sports while trying to qualify for his first Olympic Games.
Badminton
As he sits down for this interview at the recent Asian Games, it's clear Ng Tze Yong is still getting used to life as one of Malaysia's top current badminton players.
That's no real surprise, given the 23-year-old is in his first full season on the BWF World Tour – albeit one in which he has outperformed everyone's expectations, including his own.
Ng is not a man of many words, preferring to let his playing do the talking. He's also learning on the fly as a World Tour rookie, having scored his first big breakthrough with silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games last year.
It's been a steep learning curve, but one Ng has responded to with aplomb considering his performances this year. The newcomer is currently ranked eighth in the 2023 World Tour Race to Finals ranking – a position which would earn him the last invite to the BWF World Tour Finals if he manages to hold on to it.
It also means he's now in the consciousness of the Malaysian public, who previously had only Lee Zii Jia to cheer on in men's singles.
"Badminton is the main sport in Malaysia, a lot of people watching us play gives us more motivation," Ng tells Olympics.com. "My attitude (to games) and fighting spirit is the most important because a lot of people are watching."
Ng Tze Yong's reflections on 2023 season so far
Ng has competed far and wide in 2023, in the knowledge that this season is also an Olympic qualification year with ranking points on the line.
To help in his quest for those ranking points, Ng was included on the Olympic Council of Malaysia's Road to Gold programme.
"They provide us with the best support staff," Ng explains. "Like recovery after matches to be able to play 100 percent the day after."
It's much needed for someone who is competing in a different tournament nearly every week. Especially someone learning as he goes, just as Ng is.
"This year is my first year playing all the big tournaments," he points out. "I still need to be more consistent. Sometimes I can beat the top players, but the next day I lose.
"Every day the performance is different. You need to handle the pressure too. You can't think that today you beat the top player, but tomorrow you can beat him too."
Ng says while he works on his mentality and staying focussed during training – building up his physicality is another point he mentions – it's about finding that time to even practise.
"I think this kind of thing can mostly only be learned from tournaments. Because this year is qualification for the Olympics, there's not much time for training either."
Ng Tze Yong looks ahead to Paris 2024
As it stands, Ng and Lee are set to secure two quotas for Malaysia in men's singles at Paris 2024 – if a National Olympic Committee (NOC) has two players in the top 16 of the Olympic qualifying rankings, then both players will obtain a quota.
Part of Ng's decision to play in nearly every tournament is to gain the much-needed ranking points, which currently see him sitting 11th in the qualification rankings.
"Most important for me is to make it to top 16, that's my main target to qualify for the Olympics," he admits.
"If I can qualify for the Olympics, I think a lot of top players will be nervous as they will be thinking of winning the gold medal," he adds. "For the rest of us, we'll just give our best and anything could happen."
And if Ng gets to Paris, he has one big wish.
"I want to meet NBA players. Stephen Curry!"
NOCs have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective teams at the Olympic Games, and athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024. Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.