Badminton News: World number 2 badminton Lee Zii Jia is preparing for a tricky opener against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka who is in fine form at the Malaysia Open World Tour Super 1000 next month.
Naraoka, 21, has been in cavalier form this season, recently hitting a career-high 10 in the BWF World Rankings.
Neither Zii Jia nor Naraoka have faced each other yet, but the rising Japanese star has surpassed the Malaysian this season, reaching four finals and five semi-finals.
Lee Zii Jia, who turned professional this year, recently let go of his coach, Indra Wijaya, and is currently traveling alone with his team.
Along with winning the Asian Championships crown in May and the Super 500 Thailand Open the same month, Zii Jia struggled with consistency.
In his last five tournaments, the 24-year-old tennis player has only reached the final (Danish Open), the others have only reached the second round.
The Kedah-born player also failed to qualify for the season-ending World Tour Finals, where Naraoka reached the semi-finals before narrowly losing to eventual champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
Barring disappointment, second-seeded Lee Zii Jia is set to face world number 29 Ng Tze Yong, who will face Irishman Nhat Nguyen in the first round.
Other notable names at the bottom of the table include world number 3 Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen of India and three Chinese players, Lu Guang Zu, Zhao Jun Peng and Li Shi Feng, who could spoil the party for everyone.
Axelsen, Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonatan Christie, Taiwan’s Chou Tien Chen, China’s Shi Yuqi and former two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan were all in the top half of the draw.
The Malaysia Open 2023 from January 10 to 15 at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil offers a total prize pool of US$1.25 million (RM5.6 million) or around Rs.19 billion.
Article tags: Lee Ziijia, Kodai Naraoka, Malaysian Open 2023
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/badminton/lee-zii-jia-tantang-kodai-naraoka-di-babak-pertama-malaysia-open-2023
“Thinker. Food advocate. Incurable coffee enthusiast. Communicator. Proud student. Zombie buff. Tv fanatic. Extreme troublemaker.”
