Indonesia Masters: Angus Ng Ka-long sets up a daunting quarter-final date with world No 1 Viktor Axelsen

Hong Kong’s No 1 shuttler Angus Ng Ka-long continued his comeback with a battling last-16 win at the Indonesia Masters on Thursday, but now faces the toughest possible test of his credentials against world No 1 Viktor Axelsen.

Ng, who returned to the tour this week after months out following a battle with Covid-19, beat his second Chinese opponent in two outings in Jakarta. seeing off Zhao Junpeng in three games.

With “confidence gained”, Ng now heads into a daunting quarter-final clash with the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist, against whom he has lost all of their nine meetings.

“It’s been more than a year since I have faced Viktor,” he said. “I haven’t beaten him before. Hopefully, I can have a tight match with him.”

Getting off to a flying start, Ng took the first game of Thursday’s encounter 21-9 in just 12 minutes

The score was tied seven times in a back-and-forth second game, which Ng eventually lost 21-19, before rallying to defeat former world junior bronze medallist Zhao, taking the decider 21-10.

On Wednesday, the Hongkonger – who turns 28 later this month – beat Korean Open champion Weng Hongyang 21-18, 21-17 in the first round.

“I think I had good prematch mental preparation that contributed to my win [over Zhao],” said Ng. “There is no easy win against Chinese players, so I prepared well for a hard game.

“I hadn’t beaten Chinese players at their level in a long time. It not only gave me confidence, but it also proved that my training is on the right track.”

Ng tested positive for Covid-19 twice at events in March, once after his second-round exit at the All England Open and again after travelling to Basel for another tournament but being forced to withdraw because of a failed test.

He tested positive again on April 2 at Hong Kong International Airport and was quarantined in a hotel for seven days, forcing him to withdraw from the Asian Championships in Manila at the end of that month.

“After two matches, I am relieved to discover that my fitness condition is exactly the same as before, unaffected by Covid-19,” Ng said.

In the mixed doubles, Hong Kong pair Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet battled back from one game down to beat Hoo Pang Ron and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia 20-22, 21-5, 21-15.

They now face a quarter-final clash against European Championships silver medallists Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue, who took out Thai top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai in the first round.

Semi-finalists at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, Tang and Tse took a break from their partnership earlier this year, with the Indonesia Masters serving as their second tournament back together, following the Asian Championships in April.

“The fact that the next round’s opponents beat the first-seeded pair shows that they are in good shape,” said Hong Kong coach Tim He Yiming. “Even though our pair has more experience, we still need to prepare well for a hard fight tomorrow.”

In the men’s singles, Lee Cheuk-yiu lost his second-round clash with world No 4 Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan in three games, 11-21, 21-18, 16-21.