KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 — The national badminton squad has been dealt a heavy blow as Ng Tze Yong was forced to skip the Thomas Cup 2024 due to injury. He has been replaced by doubles player Choong Hon Jian.

Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky said the decision to drop Tze Yong, the Arctic Open 2023 runner-up, was made at a meeting yesterday.

"We dropped him because he is not in a position to play. This decision was taken after thorough discussions involving the coaches and management.

"We selected Hon Jian based on discussions with the doubles and singles coaches as well as the management,” he told reporters at ABM in Bukit Kiara here today.

On Tuesday, Rexy said the world number 18 Tze Yong had to undergo an MRI scan to determine whether he would be fit to play. — Bernama