KUALA LUMPUR - Men’s singles badminton ace Lee Zii Jia has the strength and agility to overcome China’s Chen Long at the Tokyo Olympics this month.
Legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei said that Zii Jia, being just 23, clearly has the age advantage over the 32-year-old Chen Long.
The current world number eight is expected to meet Chen Long in the second round or the best of sixteen if both players make it past the group stage at the world's biggest multi-event sport.
Chong Wei, who is also Malaysia’s chef de mission (CDM) to the Tokyo Olympics, said he is ready to share some insights with Zii Jia to take Chen Long.
However, he admitted that nobody has seen Chen Long play recently as he has not been participating in any international tournaments since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Chen Long is now trained by my former coach, Li Mao and for sure, he will definitely improve his skills ahead of the Olympics.
“However, I was made to understand that Chen Long was not at his best in a tournament in China,” he said.
Chong Wei hoped that Zii Jia can repeat the same performance against Chen Long when the Kedahan lad defeated the Chinese 21-12, 21-18 in the quarter-final of the 2020 All England championship.
In Tokyo, Zii Jia has been drawn in Group M with France’s Brice Leverdez and Ukraine’s Artem Pochtarov, while Chen Long will face Spain’s Pablo Abian and Raul Mist of Estonia in Group N. – Bernama July 12, 2021
