ANN/THE STAR – Men’s singles Lee Zii Jia 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 August 21-27 in Copenhagen.
In the draw released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) yesterday, the unseeded Zii Jia is down to face world number five 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 number one 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.”
