All eyes will be on Zii Jia in Korean Open

PETALING JAYA: It will be exciting times for Lee Zii Jia (pic) fans as their idol returns as a rejuvenated shuttler at the Korean Open in Yeosu.

Team LZJ had a message for the fans on their Instagram page – “Lee Zii Jia is back on tour and the journey continues.”

The immensely popular men’s singles player will return with the self-belief as the arrival of his coach Wong Tat Meng has in some way helped to put him in a positive frame of mind.

Tat Meng has only guided Zii Jia for two weeks and it will be too early to judge the effectiveness of his training programme.

Having a coach with experience helps and more so when playing against Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong in the first round of the tournament starting today.

Tat Meng has guided Angus as the Hong Kong singles coach for a year and his knowledge on the player would be helpful to give Zii Jia a winning start on his return.

On the opposite bench will be former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) national singles coaching director Wong Choong Hann who has now taken over from Tat Meng as the new Hong Kong singles coach.

Choong Hann is also aware of Zii Jia’s strength and weakness and these facts will make the first round clash an exciting affair.

Win or lose, fans will be relieved to see Zii Jia back in action again and will be hoping for progress with Tat Meng at the helm.

Three other Malaysians are also in the main draw where Ng Tze Yong faces a tricky first round match against Mithun Manjunath of India while newly crowned national champion Leong Jun Hao takes on former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.

Independent shuttler Cheam June Wei faces a tough opener against second seed Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan.

In the women’s singles, reigning national champion K. Letshanaa has to beat Rachael Darragh of Ireland to make the main draw.

Independent shuttler Goh Jin Wei is in the main draw and will meet Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in the first round.

Women’s doubles player Pearly Tan, who suffered a right elbow injury during the Singapore Open last month, has been cleared to play with M. Thinaah and they face Japan’s Rui Hirokami-Yuna Kato in the opener.

“She (Pearly) is in good condition and is ready to play. She will also play in Japan and Australia,” confirmed national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky.

Independent pair Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien, who also won the recent national title, face an uphill task against Japan’s fifth seeds Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara in their opening match.

In the men’s doubles, world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and independent pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi play against qualifying pairs while Taiwan Open winners Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun meet South Koreans Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung Jae first.

In the mixed doubles, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei will be involved in an all-Malaysian first round clash against Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie while Hoo Pang Ron-Teoh Mei Xing will play former world champions Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand.