Ng Tze Yong faces world champion in Asian Championships

Ng Tze Yong, a men's singles badminton player from Malaysia, faces a challenging match in his comeback tournament. He will play against Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the reigning world champion from Thailand, in the Asian Championships taking place from April 8-13 in Ningbo, China. This event is significant as it is part of the World Tour Super 1000 series. Tze Yong has been away from the sport for over a year due to two back surgeries. Now, at 24 years old, he holds a protected ranking of No. 18. His first match against Kunlavut, who is ranked No. 5, will be a tough test, as Kunlavut is seeded third in the tournament, behind two other top players. In addition to Tze Yong, Malaysia will be represented by Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh in men’s singles. Jun Hao, ranked No. 26, will face Lin Chun-yi from Taiwan, who is ranked No. 11. This will be Jun Hao's first time competing in this championship. Justin Hoh, ranked No. 50, stepped in for the injured Lee Zii Jia. He is expected to have a smoother path in the group stage, facing Jewel Angelo Albo from the Philippines and Amirhossein Hasani from Iran before potentially meeting South Korea's Jeon Hyeok-jin. In the women’s singles, Goh Jin Wei, K. Letshanaa, and Wong Ling Ching will compete. Jin Wei will start her tournament against Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun, while Letshanaa and Ling Ching will begin from the group stage.