Jonassen Stays Hopeful For Tze Yong

KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Bernama) – National singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen is keeping his fingers crossed that men’s singles player Ng Tze Yong has not sustained a serious injury following his early exit from the 2025 Malaysia Masters today, describing it as one of the most frustrating moments of the tournament.

Tze Yong, 25, who had only recently returned to competition after a long layoff was showing promising signs of recovery before slipping awkwardly during his first-round match and was forced to retire while leading 4-3 in the second set, after having won the first set 22-20.

“I’m keeping a positive mindset and we hope it’s nothing major. Something definitely happened, but we’ll have to wait for the scan results tomorrow before we can make a proper statement on the situation.

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“Obviously, we hope it’s a short-term issue and we’ll deal with it accordingly. Whenever something new happens, we need to adjust and potentially find another way of thinking and doing things,” he told reporters at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, today.

Jonassen added that he remains optimistic, believing the injury is minor and may only cost Tze Yong a few tournaments before making a return, unless told otherwise.

He dismissed concerns that fatigue from Tze Yong’s recent run of back-to-back tournaments may have contributed to the injury.

“It has nothing to do with fatigue. It was basically a slip that made the difference. If we were gone deeper part of the second set and maybe a third set, then fatigue could probably be an issue,” he said.

Tze Yong has suffered various injuries, including a muscle tear in his back followed by a spinal injury, since last year and had to undergo a long period of rest and rehabilitation before returning to action in the BAC (April 8-13).

In the meantime, Tze Yong’s setback compounded what Jonassen admitted was a disappointing campaign for the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) men’s and women’s singles squads at the Malaysia Masters with all players bowing out in the opening round.

“We’re here to win matches. Yes, there was fighting spirit but we need more than that. This tournament gave me insights into each player’s performance and what needs improvement, but I’ll keep that between me and the players for now,” he said.

In other results, men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh was sent packing by fourth seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan, 14-21, 20-22 in a 56-minute match while Leong Jun Hao fell 21-10, 18-21, 9-21 to Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen.

In the women’s singles, 21-year-old Letshanaa lost to China’s Han Qian Xi, 21-10, 19-21, 12-21.

— BERNAMA