Photo: AFP
PETALING JAYA: Lee Zii Jia’s return to form is timely ahead of the Malaysian Masters from May 23-28 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
The independent men’s singles shuttler stayed unbeaten throughout the Sudirman Cup in Suzhou and played an important role in Malaysia’s bronze medal win.
Zii Jia, who had dropped from No. 4 to No. 8 in the world rankings after suffering a first-round exit in the Asian Championships last month, won the only point for Malaysia in the 1-3 defeat to South Korea in the semi-finals yesterday.
The 25-year-old easily swept aside Jeon Hyeok-jin 21-11, 21-9 to give the team hope after mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei had lost 21-11, 13-21, 7-21 to world No. 5 Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yu-jung in the first match.
Zii Jia’s efforts, though, were not enough to help the team reach the final after K. Letshanaa went down to An Se-young 10-21, 13-21 in the women’s singles while men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were beaten 12-21, 11-21 by scratch pair Kim Won-ho-Na Sung-seung.
But Zii Jia can still be satisfied with his performances as he did not drop a single game in all his matches.
The best of his wins was over Taiwan’s world No. 5 Chou Tien-chen in the group stage.
Zii Jia also beat India’s 2021 World Championships silver medallist K. Srikanth in a group match.
After his win over Hyeok-jin, Zii Jia said: “I just wanted to do my part well for Malaysia.
“I believe that if I can perform at my best, I will get good results.
“So, I’m focusing on my own performance and shutting out anything else.”
In the Malaysian tourney, Zii Jia will need to raise his game again as he faces a tricky opening match against China’s world No. 12 Lu Guangzu.
A win will see the Malaysian play either Indonesia’s defending champion Chico Aura or Thailand Masters winner Lin Chun-yi of Taiwan in the second round.
Then, in the last eight, Japan’s world No. 3 Kodai Naraoka could await Zii Jia.
