Zii Jia says he will be patient and hope to turn around his fortunes

PETALING JAYA: Lee Zii Jia, despite the pressure mounting on him to produce improved results, has no choice but to ride out the storm and hope for a breakthrough in the super 1000 China Open which begins today.

The Malaysian’s campaign in the World Championships was ended by Dane Anders Antonsen who went on to reach the semi-finals in Copenhagen two weeks ago.

Another difficult task awaits in China where Zii Jia, the world No. 14, is scheduled to face World Championships runner-up Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the first round tomorrow.

“No one wants to lose and I’m training very hard to come out of this situation. My coach (Wong Tat Meng) had assured me that changes don’t happen overnight and I need to be patient,” Zii Jia said.

“This is a long process and I cannot say when it will happen. Some players take months, some even years to regain form.”

Zii Jia’s frustration is understandable as his performance has improved especially at the Australia Open and the World Championships last month but it was evident he still has a lot of catching up to do especially when playing against the top 10 shuttlers.

The independent shuttler is likely to give world No. 3 Naraoka a run for his money but he may also have to be prepared to accept defeat against the supremely confident Japanese shuttler.

These tough moments may not continue for long if Zii Jia believes he can become the same player who once used to beat the top 10 players regularly and captured the All-England crown in 2021.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) player Ng Tze Yong also needs to up the ante as he will also face an early exit when he faces the in-form world No. 6 H.S. Prannoy of India in the first round today.

Prannoy is fresh from reaching the semi-finals at the World Championships where he had also toppled world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the last eight.

Tze Yong, unlike Zii Jia, has got nothing to lose and should go into the match against Prannoy to create an upset, a result that will put him in good stead when he makes his debut at the Asian Games in Hangzhou later this month.

In the women’s singles, Goh Jin Wei is the only player who has managed to receive a late entry after the withdrawal of the injured Michelle Li of Canada. Jin Wei plays Aya Ohori of Japan in the first round tomorrow.

The mixed doubles action will begin today where independent pairs Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing will face off against each other.

It will confirm at least one Malaysian pair in the second round and both combinations are looking forward to some better results and can’t afford an early exit.

Kian Meng-Pei Jing are in a precarious situation of losing their place in the Road-to-Gold (RTG) programme as their world ranking has slipped to No. 23 and they need to be in the top 16 to maintain their spot.

A review will be done at the end of this month and they may find themselves out of RTG if their world ranking continues to slip further down.

Rising Malaysian pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei will begin their campaign against India’s Rohan Kapoor-Sikki Reddy in the first round tomorrow.

Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will also open their campaign against Debora Jille-Cheryl Seinen of Holland in the first round today.

The Malaysian pair will be hoping to maintain their current form, where they reached the last eight at the World Championships, and progress further in the tournament.