Badminton: ‘Dragon gang’ Tze Yong, Ee Wei and Pearly ready to light up the year

PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Ng Tze Yong, Toh Ee Wei and Pearly Tan will be extra fired up to make 2024 the highlight of their careers.

2024 is set to be significant for all three Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) players, who were born in 2000 which is also the year of the dragon.

From left: Pearly Tan, Ng Tze Yong and Toh Ee Wei.

Mixed doubles star Ee Wei is hoping for a memorable year along with Tze Yong (men’s singles) and Pearly (women’s doubles).

“This year will be special for me, Pearly and Tze Yong as we are all from the same batch,” said Ee Wei.

“We grew up together and knew each other since young.

“I hope everyone stays healthy and avoids injuries this year which is the most important thing for every athlete.

“This is my goal for the new year as well,” added Ee Wei.

Just like the dragon, Ee Wei (mixed doubles), Tze Yong (men’s singles) and Pearly (women’s doubles) are known for their fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude on court.

All three will be battling to qualify for their first Olympic Games in Paris in July.

Ee Wei and her partner Chen Tang Jie were only combined about a year ago but had progressed quickly up the ranks to become the No. 1 pair in the country.

The duo, who are ranked No. 9 in the world, will be out to get their year off to a good start in the prestigious Malaysian Open from Jan 9-14 in Bukit Jalil.

Tang Jie-Ee Wei have a tricky opening round match against world No. 11 Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue of France.

Meanwhile, Pearly, who had an injury-disrupted second half of the year, will be hoping to stay fit and do better with M. Thinaah.

The pair had suffered a shock first-round exit in the Malaysian tourney last year before making amends with a memorable showing by going all the way to the final of the Malaysian Masters in May.

They went down fighting to South Korea’s world No. 2 Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee.

World No. 12 Pearly-Thinaah have a tough opener against China’s world No. 8 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning this time.

World No. 15 Tze Yong also needs to be on his toes as he plays Japan’s Koki Watanabe, who beat him in their only encounter so far in the Japan Open last year.

Tze Yong has to stay in the top 16 in order to make the Olympics. A country can have two singles if both of them are in the top 16 ranking. Another Malaysian player ahead of Tze Yong is professional star Lee Zii Jia at the 11th spot.