Zii Jia stays calm over tough opener against Jonatan at worlds

PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles Lee Zii Jia (pic) has just started taking baby steps under new coach Wong Tat Meng in resurrecting his career but he has been handed the worst possible draw for the World Championships from Aug 21-27 in Copenhagen.

In the draw released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) yesterday, the unseeded Zii Jia is down to face world No. 5 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the first round.

Reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open two weeks ago had been an encouraging sign that Zii Jia, who is currently ranked 13th in the world, has started his slow and steady progress under Tat Meng.

A kinder draw would help Zii Jia achieve a respectable result in Copenhagen but he will now be involved in a do-or-die battle against Jonatan from the get-go.

Jonatan had won the Indonesian Masters in January and also finished runner-up to world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the Japan Open last month.

“Any opponent is a threat when it comes to the world championships,” said a philosophical Zii Jia.

“Since the event is less than two weeks, there will be no big changes in my training and I will maintain what I’m doing.

“Of course, I was disappointed after losing (in the Australian Open) but I have recovered from that. I will work on gaining my confidence.

“I still have a long way to go and I will be patient in this big process.”

Zii Jia can harbour hopes of an upset as the Malaysian had beaten Jonatan in their last meeting – in the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open – in November last year.

Meanwhile, Zii Jia was not the only Malaysian to receive bad news as the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) Ng Tze Yong is also set to go through a rough ride in his opening match.

World No. 22 Tze Yong will meet Zhao Junpeng, one of the young Chinese players from a legion who have become threats to top players in the men’s singles, in the first round.

If Tze Yong pulls through, he is likely face another stern test against Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the second round.

Defending champion Axelsen, based on his current form, is not expected to face trouble and his first test could come in the semi-finals against either Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand or All-England champion Li Shifeng of China.

In the women’s singles, independent player Goh Jin Wei should overcome Vivien Sandorhai of Hungary in the first round but that could be the furthest she could venture as she is drawn to play world No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea in the second round.

Another independent shuttler S. Kisona will face Pai Yu-po of Taiwan in the first round and a win is likely to pit her against third seeds Chen Yufei of China.