Zii Jia pursuing positive results in Basel

KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia feels the need to perform well at two major European competitions starting with the Swiss Open badminton tournament in Basel from March 2-7.

However, refusing to put a lot of pressure on himself at the upcoming Super 300 tournament, Zii Jia is looking to improve from the previous two tournaments and achieve positive results.

The absence of men’s singles coach Datuk Tey Seu Bock in Switzerland will not affect the focus of the 22-year-old who is optimistic of working well with Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching director, Wong Choong Hann.

“I need to achieve good results in Europe but at the same time, I also do not want to put too much pressure on myself. I will try my best and most importantly, I need to be in my best form.

“There is nothing I can do about not having Seu Bock there, but having Choong Hann is good enough for me. We have discussed what needs to be done regarding my game,” he said yesterday in a video clip prepared by BAM.

Zii Jia, ranked second in the tournament, was part of the national badminton squad who left for Basel last night in an effort to improve their respective rankings.

He said the absence of many of the world’s top players should be exploited to score points and book a slot at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in July.

“I hope this will give us a good chance to rise to the occasion as so many topranked players are not taking part. It is a golden opportunity to jump up the rankings,” he said.

After the Swiss Open, the badminton squad will participate in the prestigious All-England championship from March 17-21 at the Utilita Arena Birmingham, England.

Last month, Zii Jia lost in the quarter-finals and first round of the Thailand Yonex Open and Toyota Open respectively and his lacklustre performance continued at the BWF World Tour finals.

Zii Jia will kick off his challenge at the Swiss Open against South Korean Heo Kwang Hee in the first round while top-ranked player of the tournament, Danish Viktor Axelsen will face Canadian Jason Anthony Ho-Shue.