Angus Ng Ka-long tested positive for Covid-19 again on Thursday night, 24 hours before he planned to return to Hong Kong, and compared himself to Chris Rock being slapped by Will Smith. Ng has been stranded in Switzerland for the past two weeks, and included a meme of the now infamous Oscars incident in an Instagram story on Friday. In the meme, Rock has the phrase “For the one desperate to go back to HK” in Chinese characters above him, while Smith is marked with the words “PCR TEST”. Hong Kong’s top badminton player contracted the virus during the All England Open last month, and the delay is a blow to his preparations for the Asian Games. After testing positive in March, Ng withdrew from the following week’s Swiss Open and isolated himself at a hotel in Basel, but in a Zoom interview earlier on Thursday had told Hong Kong media he expected to test negative and fly home. “I can say that I recovered from Covid-19,” Ng said. “I was tested negative on rapid antigen tests in the last two days, and I also feel good without any symptoms.” Hong Kong badminton star Angus Ng stuck in Switzerland with Covid-19 The 27-year-old, who is fully vaccinated, believes he must now stay in Basel until he tests negative, which would be a huge blow to his world ranking. Ng, who dropped from one place to 11th in the world ranking list two weeks ago, had hoped to play at the Asia Championships later this month at Manila, in a bid to regain his place in the top 10. “There is a big difference between 10th and 11th, if you are in world’s top 10, you will have a better seeding and better draw in many big tournaments [including the Asian Games].” Ng, who left Hong Kong in February to play in the Asia Team Championships in Malaysia, has seen his year largely disrupted by quarantine and said that had affected him on the court. “I haven’t had a solid game for the last few tournaments due to the lack of systematic training as a result of long quarantine days early this year after overseas competitions,” said Ng, who lost in the second round of the All England Open to Lu Guangzu of China. Ng said he “really hopes to be invited” to train at the Dubai camp, organised by Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Viktor Axelsen, alongside the likes of reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. After the Asia Championships, Ng has two months of regular training left before a series of tournaments in Southeast Asia in June. Promising Hong Kong sailor Aylsworth eyes Asian Games gold Separately, the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong and the Shun Hing Group have named the 10 awardees of the Panasonic Sports Scholarship Programme for the September’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, and and the Paris Olympics in two years. As one of the recipients of the HK$345,600 subsidy, Ng said he had benefited a lot from the programme in the past, and would continue to strive for excellence for the two big events. “I will get married on March 26, 2023, and will continue my badminton career after my marriage, and the 2024 Olympic Games is an important goal for me,” Ng said.