Hong Kong badminton pair Reginald Lee and Yoyo Ng ready to challenge for Olympics spot after rocketing up rankings

Little more than a year ago, Reginald Lee Chun-hei and Yoyo Ng Tsz-yau were competing in minor badminton tournaments trying to boost their world rankings, now the Hong Kong pair have a shot at qualifying for the Paris Olympics.

The duo’s performances in the mixed doubles has earned them eligibility for some of the top tournaments on the HSBC World Tour, with their world ranking rising to 22, just one place behind the city’s top combination Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet.

And while the latter pair have struggled recently, Lee and Ng showed why they have risen so fast at the Asian Mixed Team Championships in Dubai last week, winning important matches in the group stage against Taiwan and in the quarter-finals against India.

Although Hong Kong lost that best-of-five encounter, badminton head coach Tim He Yiming was impressed by the fast improvement the pair have made so far.

“Lee still needs better control of his rhythm so that his opponents will find it difficult to follow his pace, while Ng requires more international exposure of how to play against big names on the circuit,” the coach said. “But what they have achieved over these period is brilliant as they are in the top 32 in the world and can start in most of the major tournaments.

“The coronavirus pandemic over the last three years was a blow to both players but now they can relaunch their campaign and set foot on the bigger international stage.”

The qualification process for the 2024 Paris Olympics starts in May with all the places to be decided after 12 months. Lee will be looking for a second appearance at the Games after his debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics.