Lingโ Ching’s Rise in World Rankings Fuels Pursuit of Top Spot, But Global Ambitions Loom Larger
PETALING JAYA: Wong Ling Ching’s recent surge in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings is positioning her โas โฃaโ strong contender for the national No. 1 โคspot in women’s singles, tho the 22-year-old maintains her primaryโฃ focus extends โคbeyond domestic rankings.
Ling Ching โฃclimbedโฃ seven places to world no.โ 42 in โขthe latest BWF rankings, propelled by quarter-final appearance at the Japan Masters and a second-roundโค finish at โthe Australian Open.This advancement places herโ just one ranking position behind currentโฃ national No. 1 K. โขLetshanaa, who remains at world No. 41.
Despite the โprogress, Ling Ching emphasized her commitment to consistent enhancement over simply overtaking Letshanaa. “I’m quite happy with my improvement. I โhope that I can be consistent and keep progressing step by step,” she said. “For me, I wantโ to move up theโ rankingsโฃ but it’s not about becoming national No. 1. Letshanaa and I are both representing Malaysia. I want our country’s women’s singles to be at the top one day. It’s more important toโ be โขworld โขNo. 1 than national No. 1.”
Ling Ching’s immediate goal is to break into the world’s top 32,which would guaranteeโฃ direct entry โinto World Tour Super 750 and 1000 competitions. โHer potential was highlighted by a notable victory over Canada’s world No.14 Michelle Li in theโค second round of the Japan Masters, leading to her frist โquarter-final appearance in a Super 500 tournament.
This โฃbreakthrough followed aโ quarter-final finish at the Super 300 Canada Open in July, the Slovenian Open title in May,โข and โa runner-up finish โat theโ Malaysia Super 100 in October, where she lost toโ former world โchampion โขNozomi Okuharaโ of Japan.
The Sarawakian attributes her recent success to a shift inโ mindset. “The difference โคthis year is I have been more patient. Last time, I tend to think too much about what I should do but โคthis year, I just focus on training and enjoying my game in tournaments,” Ling Ching explained. She also credited coach Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin for providing motivation. “The winโ over Michelle โhas boosted โmy self-confidence and I hope to maintain my form.”
Ling Ching โขacknowledged areas for improvement, notably her stamina. “When I was playing in Australia,it was myโ third tournament in a row and my fitness levels had dropped,” she said.โข “The explosiveness in myโ legs was gone and it was hard to play my own game. So, I need to improve myโค stamina. I also need toโ be more flexible tactically โคand mentally.”
Ling Ching will next compete atโ the SEA Games inโค Thailand, from December 9-20, alongside Letshanaa, โSiti Zulaikha Azmi, and Eng Ler โฃQi in the โฃwomen’s singlesโค competition.
