News Credit: Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: Rising star Ng Tze Yong marked his debut in the All England Badminton Championships by pulling off the biggest upset of the tournament, beating defending champion and current world No 1 Viktor Axelsen from Denmark 21-15, 9-21, 23-21 in three nail-biting games.
Tze Yong, 22, stunned the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medallist in the first game but the Dane came back strongly to clinch the second game.
However, the Malaysian youngster held his nerve, starting the third game on the right footing, and stayed in front for most of the decider.
But towards the final few points, he was overcome by nerves and stumbled all over the court while Victor picked up point after point and even held match point on two occasions, although Tze Yong managed to pull the rug from under the Dane’s feet.
At one point, Tze Yong was looking like a worn-out warrior but still had a little gas in the tank to clinch the biggest win of his career.
Tze Yong will now face China’s Li Shi Feng in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
