UPDATED
KUALA LUMPUR: The return of men's singles Ng Tze Yong to competitions will have to wait as a cautious BAM has withdrawn him from the Malaysia Open on Jan 7-12.
Tze Yong, who has been recovering from double back surgeries since May, was initially included for the Super 1000 tournament, the curtain raiser for the World Tour next year.
But eventually, BAM felt the risk was too great for the 24-year-old and decided not to jeopardise his career. Earlier, BAM might have been concerned that the former world's top 16 player may slip further down his 192 ranking.
This will leave world No. 8 Lee Jii Zia and world No. 29 Leong Jun Hao carrying the country's hopes in the men's singles at the Malaysia Open.
National singles head coach Kenneth Jonassen said it was the right move to leave Tze Yong out of the Malaysia Open.
The Dane said he had the opportunity to have a chat with Tze Yong during his two-day visit (Nov 25-26) to BAM to understand the player better.
"We did have a very good and relaxed and honest talk together, getting to know each other and talking about badminton at the highest level," Jonassen told Timesport.
"I think it's the right decision not to rush him into playing a tournament before he has recovered fully and feels physically ready to compete at the highest level, which the Malaysia Open is."