KUALA LUMPUR — Months after the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) applied for a protected ranking for Ng Tze Yong, the national men’s singles player gave his fans a glimpse of hope when he shared a social media post of him training on the court.
While the 24-year-old was promoting a muscle massage device, the video showing Tze Yong going through his training routine was a positive sign that his recovery from a lower back injury earlier this year is progressing well.
In his post, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist wrote, “Recovery made easier with the Bomidi Massage Gun!” along with the hashtags #Recovery and #StayStrong.
At the time of writing, the post had already garnered over 100,000 views, 6,500 likes, and more than 300 shares on Instagram.
Tze Yong first sustained the injury during the first round of the Malaysia Open in January. Since then, the Johor-born player has only competed once in the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February before being sidelined. BAM subsequently applied for a protected ranking, and it was later confirmed that Tze Yong had fallen out of the running for qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
BAM coaches have confirmed that Tze Yong is undergoing rehabilitation and will not be rushed back into competition. He has also rarely been seen at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM).
“Glad to see you on court,” commented one Instagram user, @lailakamilia, while another user, @spicyj1a, said, “Take your time to recover, Yong, we will wait for you.”
Notably, Tze Yong will not compete in the season-opening Super 1000 Malaysia Open, scheduled for January 7–12. His one-year protected ranking of world number 18 will expire at the end of April 2025. – December 10, 2024