KUALA LUMPUR: Ng Tze Yong must overcome the brick wall that is stopping him from achieving greatness in the sport.
The world No. 22, who has beaten top players like Viktor Axelsen, is inconsistent and cannot maintain his form from one round to the next in a tournament.
On Wednesday, Tze Yong on his second World Championships appearance lost 24-22, 21-16 to Denmark's Anders Antonsen.
Credit to Tze Yong for playing a good match, but the Malaysian could not pull off a stunner to reach the third round.
The 23-year-old said: "I gave my best, but today, Antonsen was a better player. He has experience on his side and moves faster on the court."
Tze Yong will now return to Kuala Lumpur to prepare for next month's China Open.
"I have learned a lot from this match, such as controlling my nervousness."
National coach Hendrawan said: "No excuses. Tze Yong lost to a better opponent today who is mature and more experienced.
"Tze Yong tried his best. It is the best result we can produce at the moment. There is still much to improve," said the Indonesian coach.
World No. 12 Antonsen was satisfied with his performance against Tze Yong.
"I was super calm and had a good start, so I will try to keep working on that. I proved that I can overcome difficult situations to win matches.
"It was my first encounter against Tze Yong, so I am happy to win in straight games," said the 26-year-old Antonsen.
Tze Yong's exit prevented an all-Malaysian last-16 encounter. Antonsen played Lee Zii Jia on Thursday.
The world No. 13 Malaysian defeated Canada's Brian Yang 21-11, 21-16 in the second round.
Meanwhile, defending champion Axelsen thrashed Frenchman Christo Popov 21-6, 21-8 in the second round. The Dane took on Taiwan's Chou Tien Chen on Thursday.
Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu and Angus Ng also reached the third round along with China's Shi Yu Qi and Japan's Kodai Naraoka.