KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong has finally smashed his way to the first title of the season after being crowned as the Bahrain International Challenge 2022 champion in Manama, Sunday.

However, first seeded Tze Yong was made to slog against unseeded Kuo Kuan Lin of Taiwan in the final before he survived the one hour and 20 minutes final clash with a 21-15, 20-22, 21-12 win.

The current world number 27 player also received prize money of US$1,200.

Tze Yong had previously won the men’s singles silver medal and helped the national team to wrest the gold medal in the mixed team event from India at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Tthe 22-year-old rising star was also part of Malaysia’s mens squad which ended Indonesia’s dominance to win their maiden Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) title in Shah Alam in February. — Bernama