ZII JIA TO TREAD WITH CAUTION AFTER TAIWAN HIGH
PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia aims to pick up where he left off when he returns to competitive action in nearly two months at the Korean Masters.
The 20-year-old has yet to play since he captured the Taiwan Open for his career’s biggest victory early last month – no thanks to a persistent back injury.
Now fit again, Zii Jia admitted he’s itching for action and vows to reproduce the form that saw him upset the likes of world No. 4 Chou Tienchen en route to victory in Taiwan.
“It’s frustrating being sidelined in the last two months. It kind of broke the momentum a bit,” he said.
“But my lower back was hurting at that time. I have to tread with caution as it was a recurring injury that also forced me to skip the recent Sukma.
“After nearly two months, I manage to overcome it and come back just in time for one last tournament before the World Tour ends.
“I want to do well again to continue my good run from Taiwan. But it’s a brand new tournament for me and I intend to do away with the champion’s tag and take it one round at a time.”
If Zii Jia performs to his true ability, he should make it to the semi-finals where he’s expected to face Khosit Phetpradab of Thailand.
The withdrawals of his opponents in the same quarter – including Asian Games gold medallist Jonatan Christie of Indonesia and Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen – have made his path clear to the last four.
Zii Jia opens his campaign against Taiwan’s Lin Yu-hsien in the first round tomorrow and his possible competitor in the second will be the winner between Milan Ludik of Czech Republic and Taiwan’s Yang Chih-chieh.
The other national men’s singles shuttler in the fray is Soong Joo Ven, who will take on a qualifier.
In the men’s doubles, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong will be out to salvage some pride in what was a dismal season for them.
They will be joined by Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Chen Tang JieMan Wei Chong and independent pairs Arif Abdul Latif-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub and Chooi Kah MingLow Juan Shen.