Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s men’s singles coach, Hendrawan was confident that the reigning All England champion and World No. 8 Lee Zii Jia is in his best condition and is able to produce positive results even if he hasn’t competed since winning the All England in March.
Earlier this season, Lee has not played in any international tournaments for almost a year following the cancellation of badminton events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He did badly in the three back-to-back tournaments that were held in Bangkok in January of 2021 and was defeated by World No. 24 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 18-21, 10-21 in the semi-final of Swiss Open, early March, before redeeming himself at All England by coming back from the brink of defeat to win a heart-stopping 3 setter against World No. 2, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark with 30-29, 20-22, 21-9.
“Zii Jia has learned from his experience and the coaches are helping him prepare for the Olympics, including improving his physical strength and playing style and also holding Olympics simulation matches,” said Hendrawan.
Hendrawan also stressed that the presence of Daren Liew as a sparring partner for Lee Zii Jia since May 24 did help prepare Lee for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“As a senior player, Daren was able to help Zii Jia, not only in terms of training but also experience, how to deal with pressure and also provide high-quality sparring,” added Hendrawan.
