KUALA LUMPUR: Men's singles Ng Tze Yong received another lucky break when he made the cut for the World Championships in Tokyo on Aug 22-28.
Initially, the world No 42 was on the reserve list but qualified for the world meet at the eleventh hour following a withdrawal.
Tze Yong, 22, will join two other Malaysian men's singles, world No 5 Lee Zii Jia and Liew Daren, in Tokyo. The Johor-born was initially not part of Malaysia's Commonwealth Games team, but received the nod after Zii Jia withdrew.
BAM high-performance director Dr Tim Jones said the national body was notified on Friday by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) through an email.
Jones noted that Tze Yong could not have asked for better timing, given his current form that saw him inspire Malaysia to the mixed team gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
"Really happy with Tze Yong's performance of late. Having experience at the Commonwealth Games and World Championships will be great for his development. He has the ability to spring a surprise or two," said Jones.
Tze Yong's good fortune of late only bodes well for the shuttler, groomed for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"Our main aim for him is to get into a stronger position for the Olympic qualification period next year and build his physical performance.
"The Commonwealth Games so far have been a nice added bonus," added Jones.
On Tuesday, Tze Yong emerged the hero for the national team when he stunned last year's World Championships silver medallist K.Srikanth in the tie against India in the mixed team final.
Tze Yong's 21-19, 8-21, 21-16 win saw Malaysia wrest the gold medal from the defending champions with a 3-1 win.
In the individual event, Tze Yong played reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in a late quarter-final match yesterday.