KUALA LUMPUR: Based on his recent form at the Malaysia Open and Malaysia Masters, men's singles Ng Tze Yong can land a medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games on July 28-Aug 8.
However, it will still be a tall order to emulate former world No 1 Lee Chong Wei's gold-medal feat at the 2018 Gold Coast edition.
BA of Malaysia (BAM) coaching director Wong Choong Hann said Tze Yong, 22, is already heading in the right direction and will only get better with a little more time.
At the Malaysia Open, the Johor-born Tze Yong lost narrowly to China's Lu Guang Zu in the opening round. However, he made amends a week later when he won two qualifying round matches before defeating Canada's Brian Yang in the first round.
In the last 16, he produced a commendable performance before succumbing to world No 4 Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan.
"Tze Yong has been showing good progress with every tournament. His awareness on court has improved, and we are pleased with how far he has come.
"Of course, there is still room for improvement. He still needs to bulk up physically, and that is already part of our programme.
"We also noticed that he is still a little rash when up against higher-ranked opponents, but overall, he showed improvement in the last two tournaments.
"We hope to see him break into the top 30 by the end of the year, where he can consistently challenge the top-16 players in top-tier tournaments," said Choong Hann.
The former world No 1 assured that Tze Yong will be given the best preparation ahead of their quest for a medal in Birmingham.
Malaysia had initially targeted gold through Lee Zii Jia, but the world No 5 independent shuttler dropped a bombshell when he announced his withdrawal from the competition to focus on the World Championships in Tokyo.
"I think we will stick to our target and hope that Tze Yong will win us a medal.
"It's still early days, but let's wait for the draw first.
"Tze Yong will have the best preparation to be in top condition for the Commonwealth Games," Choong Hann said.
KW: Badminton, Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Ng Tze Yong