KUALA LUMPUR: Men's singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong still has plenty to play for if he wants to break into the world's top 32 this year.
National coach Hendrawan said the BA of Malaysia (BAM) even have a backup plan to ensure Tze Yong achieves the ranking target so he can qualify for top-tier events next year.
Hendrawan confirmed that the world No 34 has been registered for the Bahrain International Challenge from Nov 29 to Dec 4.
However, Tze Yong will skip the event if he does well at the Super 300 Australian Open next week.
"Our target for Tze Yong is to break into the world's top 32 this year, so he can start playing in top-tier events, like the Super 1000 Malaysia Open, from next year," Hendrawan said at Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara today.
"He will not have to play in Bahrain if he does well in Australia. The Bahrain IC is a backup plan for him to collect enough ranking points."
Hendrawan said Tze Yong is still in the process of finding his consistency and should be allowed to grow.
After reaching the semi-finals of the India Open in January and winning silver at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in August, Tze Yong's next best showing was winning gold for Johor at the Malaysia Games in September.
His form took a dip after that, crashing out in the quarter-finals of the Super 100 Indonesia Masters, and the first round of the Hylo Open last week.
"It is a process Tze Yong has to go through. Things will be more difficult when he starts playing in higher-tier tournaments.
"He may score an upset but lose in the following round or does not even make it past the first stage. Just like what happened recently in Germany (Hylo)," said Hendrawan.
Apart from Tze Yong, Hendrawan hopes to see world No 72 Leong Jun Hao benefit from the Bahrain IC.
The former Asian junior champion landed his maiden World Tour title when he came out tops at the Indonesia Masters.
"We are preparing him accordingly to break into the world's top 50.
"We want Jun Hao to improve his ranking and catch up with Tze Yong.
"The target is to get Jun Hao to play in more Super 300 or 500 tournaments next year," said Hendrawan.
Tze Yong and Jun Hao will travel to Jakarta today to play in the exhibition Bright Up Cup tournament.
Others in the fray are Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, reigning Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie, Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo and Thai shuttler Sitthikom Thammasin.