Badminton News: Lee Zii Jia has an additional opponent to face in his quest for the crown at the 2022 World Championships to be held next August in Tokyo.
Former English champion Shi Yuqi, who was banned for a year by China for misconduct last year, has been named as the replacement for Chen Long, who is refusing to compete at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, next month.
The world championships will be Yuqi’s first world number 17 tournament since the Thomas Cup final in Aarhus, Denmark last year and the first world championships since missing the last two editions. Shi Yuqi has withdrawn from the last two editions due to an ankle injury.
Shi Yuqi will join Lu Guangzu and Zhao Junpeng in the task of representing the Chinese team in men’s singles.
On Tuesday, the ABC confirmed that Shi would soon be released from his suspension to play
2022 World Championships in Tokyo.
“The Chinese Badminton Association criticized and sanctioned Shi Yuqi for misconduct during the suspension period. Shi Yuqi himself also thought deeply about himself and deeply regretted his mistake. He showed a strong desire to join international tournaments and continues to earn glory for the country by working extremely hard in training,” the ABC said in a statement.
“Considering that he has admitted his guilt and shown his commitment to correcting his behavior, after a full evaluation by the ABC, we have decided to accept the invitation of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and have agreed to send Shi Yuqi to compete at the 2022 World Championships in Japan,” the ABC added.
Yuqi’s return will make the race for men’s singles supremacy at the World Championships all the more exciting as he will be more eager to prove himself after a tumultuous year.
Besides Yuqi, Lee Zii Jia’s other challengers at the World Championships are Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen from Denmark, defending champion Loh Kean Yean from Singapore, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonatan Christie from Indonesia, Kunlavut Vitidsarn from Thailand; Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth from India as well as several players from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.
Tags: Lee Zii Jia, Shi Yuqi, 2022 World Championship
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/badminton/shi-yuqi-akan-jadi-rival-berat-lee-zii-jia-di-kejuaraan-dunia-2022
