KUALA LUMPUR – Professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia hopes to maintain his form at this week’s 2023 Malaysia Masters, following his winning streak at the recently concluded Sudirman Cup in China.
Having not dropped a single game during the mixed team event last week where Malaysia lost 3-1 to South Korea in the semifinals, Zii Jia remains cautious of potential opponents at Axiata Arena from May 23 to 28.
The world's number 10 shuttler will play his first-round fixture against Lu Guang Zhu.
The 12th-seed China player has won only one meeting out of three between the pair, as he defeated Zii Jia in the last-16 of the 2022 Australian Open in November.
“It will be a tough match because I have lost to him before. I know I had a good record last week, but this is a new start now.
“The Sudirman Cup was a good tournament for me, but this week I will need to refocus and start again,” said the Kedah-born shuttler when met at Axiata Arena.
Even though Zii Jia is still undecided about his potential new coach, he thanked his camp for the boost in performance.
“I have to give a big shout-out to my team, (Liew) Daren as my assistant coach and sparring partner, and my sister (Lee Zii Yii as manager) as well.
“Even though Daren is my assistant coach, he has been working hard to find a way for me to get back my performance, so large credit goes to Daren as well.
“Not forgetting coach (Akademi Badminton Malaysia singles coaching director) Wong Choong Hann. who gave me a lot of pointers for my strategy last week,” he added.
Meanwhile, rising shuttler Ng Tze Yong is the only other Malaysian men’s singles player competing at the Super 500 event.
World number 21 Tze Yong will meet Japan world number 13 Kenta Nishimoto for the first time in the opening round tomorrow.
“I feel that I am well prepared for this tournament. It will be my first time playing against him (Kenta) so I will need to discuss what to improve with my coach more.
“Even though I did not play during the Sudirman Cup, I trained a lot, especially in the gym, and focused on my stamina,” he said. – The Vibes, May 23, 2023.
