Tze Yong turns hero

RISING star Ng Tze Yong turned hero as Malaysia ended their 57-year wait in the men's Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) yesterday.

Malaysia defeated Indonesia 3-0 in the final to also end a run of six consecutive defeats to their rivals since the 2014 Thomas Cup at the Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam.

Following Lee Zii Jia and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik's victories, world No 47 Tze Yong stepped on court and held his nerves to beat world No 90 Ikhsan Rumbay 21-14, 21-15 to clinch Malaysia's winning point and the title.

Earlier, world No 7 Zii Jia battled hard to edge world No 55 Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo 14-21, 21-12, 21-10 in the opening match.

Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik also had a tough match in the 17-21, 21-13, 21-18 victory over Leo Rolly Carnando-Daniel Marthin to hand Malaysia a 2-0 lead. Tze Yong then clinched the winning point.

Although Indonesia did not send their best players, the victory is still something to cherish ahead of the Thomas Cup in Bangkok in May.

"It is a huge victory for Malaysia, and I am proud to clinch the winning point. I hope to build on this performance for major events this year," said the 22-year-old Tze Yong yesterday.

"Frankly, I did not expect us to win this tournament. I was not under any pressure, and I must thank my teammates for motivating me during the matches."

Zii Jia, meanwhile, said: "I had problems adapting to the wind direction in the hall.

"However, things got better after losing the first game, and I controlled the match from then on.

"Chico and I were rivals in our junior days. I defeated him in the semi-finals of the World Junior Championships in 2016."

Zii Jia, however, reminded his teammates not to think too much of the title as the main focus is on the Thomas Cup.

"Yes, we can celebrate today. However, we have to start preparing for the Thomas Cup. Many teams had sent their second stringers for this tournament.

"We will face stronger teams at the Thomas Cup. Aaron and Wooi Yik said they were lucky to contribute a point.

"Our performance was not too good in this tournament. We only did enough to win our matches," said Aaron.