HANGZHOU: Lee Chong Wei's playing days may be over, but the former world No 1 continues to be an influential figure in shaping Malaysian badminton.
On Wednesday, after marching into the quarter-finals of the Hangzhou Asian Games, national men's singles shuttler, Ng Tze Yong, confirmed that he had received a call from Chong Wei.
In the last-16 match at the Binjiang Gymnasium here, world No 19 Tze Yong kept a cool head to see off Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-17, 21-12.
This comes following his superb first-round win over Singapore's former world champion Loh Kean Yew in the second round on Tuesday.
Chong Wei, a three-time Olympic silver medallist, is expected to arrive in Hangzhou on Thursday by virtue of being a committee member of the Road to Gold (RTG) programme and also team manager for the Paris 2024 badminton squad.
"Yes, Chong Wei did call me," Tze Yong told members of the press after his match against Kantaphon.
"However, I think I should keep his advice to myself and not make it public," he added.
It remains to be seen if the conversation between the two will inspire Tze Yong when he takes on World Championships finalist, Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the last eight stage.
Naraoka, whom Tze Yong has never defeated in two previous meetings, had earlier downed India's K. Srikanth 21-16, 21-17.
Meanwhile, top women's doubles duo, Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah, lived up to their billing when they too checked into the quarter-finals.
The 2022 French Open champions saw off Thailand's Jonkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai 21-15, 21-17, successfully maintaining their perfect winning record over the Thai duo.
Pearly-Thinaah, currently ranked No. 9 in the world, will take on world No. 2 Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee of South Korea next.