Badminton News: World No. 10 Lee Zii Jia, who is still seeking his first BWF World Tour title this year, will face formidable Chinese opponent, Weng Hongyang, in the first round of the 2023 Singapore Open on Wednesday.

The Singapore Open, which has been upgraded from a Super 500 tournament to a Super 750 tournament this year, features a strong roster, with the top-ranked players set to compete.

However, world number one Viktor Axelsen, who suffered a hamstring injury at the Sudirman Cup in Suzhou last month, has announced his retirement from competition. Following this, Japan’s two-time world champion Kento Momota also announced his retirement due to a back injury, depriving the men’s singles event of two top players before the competition even started.

According to the draw announced by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), 8th seed Lee Zii Jia is in the bottom half of the draw. If he can overcome the challenge presented by Weng Hongyang in the first round, he is expected to face another Chinese men’s singles player, world number 12 Li Shifeng, in the second round.

If he reaches the quarter-finals, he will likely face second seed and defending Indonesian champion Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. Li Shifeng was originally scheduled to face Kento Momota in the first round.

Similarly, at the bottom of the table is Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong, who will face Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in the first round, aiming to challenge 7th-seeded Thailand and last week’s Thailand Open champion. , Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the second round. Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who is expected to rise to No. 3 in the world in the latest BWF rankings, will face Indian veteran Srikanth Kidambi in the first round.

In women’s singles, Malaysian singles representative Goh Jin Wei will face eighth-seeded Chinese Wang Ziyi in the first round.

In women’s singles, although Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi is the number one seed, South Korea’s An Se-Young, who dominated the Thailand Open last week, is looking to build on her momentum, having reached the final of his seven international tournaments this year and won four championships.

Tags: Lee Zii Jia, Weng Hong Yang, Singapore Open 2023