Struggling Hong Kong pair Angus Ng and Lee Cheuk-yiu face tough starts to All England Open campaign in Birmingham
- Ng out of form with two successive defeats since badminton season began last month
- The iconic tournament will see first fully stacked draw on the world tour since the 2020 edition
Hong Kong’s top shuttler Angus Ng Ka-long returns to the All England Open this week hoping to regain his form after a disappointing start of the season.
The Super 1000 tournament, which begins in Birmingham on Wednesday, offers the highest prize money on the world tour, with a hefty US$1 million winning purse.
With a full draw, the event is the first major tournament to feature all the world’s best in the post-Covid-19 era, with the calibre of players taking part reminiscent of the world before the pandemic struck.
The All England Open two years ago was the last time there was a full draw on the tour, and with the pandemic just starting hit Europe then, Ng and his teammates raced back to Hong Kong immediately after they finished.
There no more badminton tournaments that year, with the exception of the Denmark Open, which took place with a limited number of entries in October 2020.
“The pandemic has massively changed the outlook of the world tour and many players are struggling to adapt to it,” Tim He Yiming, the badminton head coach, said. “These days the players have to spend a certain period of time in a specific area so that they can take part in a number of tournaments to avoid air travel restrictions and quarantine.
“Ng and his teammates left Hong Kong in early February for training and competitions and it seems he has been struggling to reach his best form again. The All England Open is an iconic event and Ng reached the semi-finals in 2019. We hope he can do so again.”
