Congratulations to Lee Zii Jia for turning his year around by winning the Chinese Taipei Open after a dip in form in the past few months and suffering a back injury. I think he deserves a thread for us to follow his progress. From what I see, he has really good netplay and retrieving ability but he tends to be very error-prone, especially smashing wide/lifting long. His consistency in the future will probably depend on how much he can further on his strengths and continue to minimize his errors. ________________ From http://www.bam.org.my/player/lee-zii-jia DOB: 29 March 1998 Gender: Male Left/Right Handed: Right Ambition: To be a World Champion Who Inspires You: Dato Lee Chong Wei Which Year You Entered (BAM): 2016 Place of Birth: Kedah Height: 186cm International Debut (Senior): 2017 When and where I began playing and why?: I started playing badminton when I was 6 years old out of interest in my hometown, Alor Setar. Categories: MS _______ Podium finishes as of the time this thread was opened: BWF World Junior Championships 2016: Bronze Polish International 2017: Champion Chinese Taipei Open 2018 (Super 300): Champion
He has a good gameplay, really. Interesting net play and good defence. However, he tends to suffer a lack of focus before/after interval, so I hope he and the coaches notice that. One thing I like is his fast-release cross-smash and drop, which is just cool. Consistency is the key and I hope he stays humble to improve his game, and not become Liew Darren 2.0.
Yeah, really fast and powerful. It's a good thing to have some special shots. However, he tries to hard to smash the line, which leads to waste of points.
This literally means he needs to win OG and WC golds. Big shoes to fill! Not to mention the numerous super series events and being world number one for I dunno how many weeks.
I can't remember any Malaysian single player that plays like him and has his height. His slightly curly hair reminds me of Foo Kok Keong though.
Absolutely but he is going to be the next world-class Malaysian badminton player. He has perfect timing as well as sound defence and attack. He has a terrific jump smash which he uses to potent effect due to his great height and very strong wrists which allow him to smash with great force and accuracy. His only weakness at this stage is his relative inexperience as he has great patience for a 20 year-old. He defeated Chou Tien-Chen who is ranked number 1 in the World Tour rankings in the semi-finals before defeating Riichi Takeshita in the final of the Taipei Open 2018. Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
Compared to Goh Jin Wei...i think LZJ still has some ways to go before he starts slaying real Big Giants. His movements is not as graceful yet and match maturity ( ability to read opponents tactics and adjust accordingly) not quite astute enough... But the good news is his improvements has been very impressive. Expecting good things from this kid this year!!
Definitely. Remember, he is only 20 so he has a maturing process to undergo over the next couple of years.
Totally agreed with you.. his improvement is massive compared to his early appearances those days.I hope he can keep improving and keep Malaysia flag high in MS department post LCW.
PETALING JAYA: National men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia admitted that he has under-performed in recent times due to personal problems but has vowed to snap out of it. The 23-year-old took to Instagram to vent his frustration yesterday – a day after losing to Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the second round at the Singapore Open on Thursday. He admitted he had struggled to cope with financial difficulties, lack of breakthroughs and unfairness – although he did not elaborate. Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/badminton/2019/04/13/feeling-smashed/#TjYsVu0JYJzIc5BQ.99
Lee Zii Jia needs to understand that the only way to rid himself of his financial difficulties is to win, win, win, win and continue to win everything he takes part in thereby accumulating prize money and lucrative sponsorship deals as he goes along. He is a tremendous talent and he just has to develop mental fortitude to complement his obvious skill.
Lee Zijia was excellent the way he played and beat Chen Long yesterday at the INA Open 2019 R2. Today in the QFs against Anders Antonsen, he was not able to do the same and was even routed by his opponent who played more freely than him to get his game going smoothly. Apparently, LZJ when playing with higher hopes and under the burden of expectations felt more pressure to deliver and couldn't perform to his potential, a common problem with most younger, less experienced players in the early stage of their career. Somehow many MAS players,juniors and seniors, appeared more susceptible to the phenomenon, esp badminton-crazy nations, I supposed. Still,I believe 21-year-old LZJ is a promising talent, worth careful nurturing.
apparently LZJ cannot be alone as best MAS men single player, he need more companions as better as him, like Cheam June Wei, Soong Joo Ven, Leong June Hao, Tan Jia Wei, Lim Chi Wing , Lim Chong King, Ng Tze Yong, AIDIL SHOLEH ALI SADIKIN, MUHAMMAD ZIYAD and others young players...
LZJ is still young in competitive badminton and definitely not fit as other usual players. He needs to improve his tactical skills and most importantly stamina to be a world beater. His ranking is WR17, good enough by MAS standards. CJW, SJV, AS, LJH must bring the goods, not burdening LZJ alone.
