Zii Jia has a difficult opening round to negotiate in Malaysian Masters

PETALING JAYA: Lee Zii Jia, a men’s singles shuttler, will face China’s Zhao Junpeng in the first round of the Malaysian Masters, which will be held at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil from May 21 to 26.World No. 10 Zii Jia, seeded fifth in the tournament, has been drawn in the bottom half and will have to be on his toes from the start against the 2022 World Championships bronze medalist.

Junpeng stunned the 26-year-old in the third round of the global championships, winning bronze in Tokyo, and will be no pushover despite sliding to No. 45 in the latest world rankings after struggling to consistently exhibit his best form since then.

However, Zii Jia has a minor lead based on head-to-head records, having defeated the 28-year-old twice in their previous three international matchups.

With a win this time, the independent player will face either India’s Kiran George or Japan’s Takuma Obayashi in the second round.

If he makes it to the final eight, Zii Jia might face Denmark’s world No. 4 and second seed Anders Antonsen. Another homester, world number 37. Leong Jun Hao will face China’s world No. 33 Lei Lanxi in the opening round, while independents Cheam June Wei and Soong Joo Ven will begin in the qualifying rounds.

Meanwhile, the country’s top doubles pairs Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles), Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women’s doubles), and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles) were all given favourable draws despite the absence of several big guns, who are skipping the tournament to focus on their preparations for the Paris Olympics in July.

World No. 4 Aaron-Wooi Yik and world No. 9 Tang Jie-Ee Wei will start as the top seeds, with Pearly-Thinaah (No. 14) ranked second only to Japan’s Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (No. 12).

Aaron-Wooi Yik will play a qualifier in the first round, and if they win, they will most likely face China’s Chen Boyang-Liu Yi in the second round.

Tang Jie-Ee Wei and Pearly-Thinaah will face Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul-Phataimas Muenwong and Pichamon Patcharaphisutsin -Nannapas Sukklad, respectively, in the opening round.

For the record, Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing were the last home representatives to win the title, triumphing in mixed doubles in 2017.