PETALING JAYA: Lee Zii Jia (pic) has kept his rivals second-guessing ahead of the World Championships in Paris tomorrow, leaving him as one of the most unpredictable contenders in the men’s singles.
After two months of silence, the former Asian champion surprised fans on Friday by announcing his readiness for his stint in Paris, stressing that he has no targets other than to complete his campaign injury-free.
And former world No. 1 Roslin Hashim believes Zii Jia has taken the pressure off himself by setting minimal targets as he has only just recovered from injury.
On Friday in a social media statement, Zii Jia stated: “It’s been a while and the World Championships will be my first tournament back after an extended break.
“I’m not putting much pressure on myself, I’ll just try to enjoy being back on the competitive court and, most importantly, finish the campaign in Paris injury-free.”
At first glance, the announcement seemed like an ordinary statement, but for his rivals it could well be seen as a form of psychological warfare.
Roslin sees the scenario as interesting.
On paper, Zii Jia may not seem like a threat as no one knows the type of training and strategies he has been working on with coach Yeoh Kay Bin.
Adding to the uncertainty is the lack of recent match footage, with his last outing being at the All-England in March.
Even the short training clips of him on court are no true reflection of his actual strength.
“I don’t think his opponents can take him lightly. They may assume Zii Jia is still recovering from injury and expect him to be more cautious, not going all out for fear of aggravating it,” said Roslin.
“But who knows, he could already be fully prepared and have his own mission in mind because this is the World Championships and every player wants a medal.
“He could have skipped this tournament if he wasn’t ready, like Viktor Axelsen did, and focused on the others later. But there must be a reason why he chose to compete and make his return in Paris,” said Roslin.
Axelsen withdrew due to an injury problem.
There have been players who returned from long injury layoffs to win the world title, and one such example is the legendary Lin Dan.
After winning the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, Lin Dan was virtually inactive for some time, which also saw his world ranking drop.
But the Chinese great made a stunning return at the 2013 World Championships in Guangzhou, entering through a wildcard slot and going on to capture his fifth world title by defeating Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei in the final.
