KUALA LUMPUR: The absence of national badminton singles ace Lee Chong Wei, who withdrew from the Malaysia Open has resulted in added pressure on young national shuttler Lee Zii Jia to exhibit his best at the championship which takes place at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil from April 2-7 (Tuesday to Sunday).
Nevertheless, the 20-year-old player is convinced that his experiences of having played against several top players prior to this will help him absorb the pressure and achieve positive results at the championship which offers an overall cash price of US$700,000 (RM2.852 million).
‘’My experiences against several of the world’s top shuttlers, such as Denmark’s World No 4, Viktor Axelsen, and having beaten Taiwan’s World No 3 Chou Tien Chen prior to this, are very useful experiences. I hope to maintain my good rhythm on court,’’ said Zii Jia according to a statement released by the BA of Malaysia (BAM) earlier today (Thursday).
In the meantime, the Kedah native conceded that it was quite difficult to challenge Chong Wei’s achievement of winning the Malaysia Open championship an astonishing 12-times, but he believes it is possible if he works just as hard like the veteran national No 1 men’s singles player.
Zii Jia is scheduled to meet Thailand’s Suppanyu Avihingsanon in the first round, and if he succeeds, a difficult task awaits him in the second round where he will face former World No 1 and Olympic Champion, Lin Dan of China or Taiwanese ace Tien Chen.
Another Malaysian who will be competing in the men’s singles is professional player Liew Daren, who will face another Thai player, Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the first round.
Chong Wei opted against taking part in the Malaysia Open after being advised by his personal doctor to withdraw from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Level Three tournament, so as to ensure that his body is not overly stressed.
For the record, Chong Wei had to take a break from the sport for eight months after receiving treatment for early stage nose cancer in Taiwan.
The 36-year-old player was Malaysian Open champion in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011,2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018. Bernama