Malaysian No. 1 badminton player Lee Zii Jia will start his quest to become world champion when he faces Brice Leverdez in the first round of the World Championships in Tokyo from Aug 22-28.
Lee, the joint 5th-8th seed, has faced the Frenchman thrice, winning twice, including at the 2020 Olympics.
He skipped the recent Commonwealth Games to concentrate on becoming the first Malaysian world badminton champion.
In Lee’s absence, Ng Tze Yong shone brightly in Birmingham, England, helping Malaysia win the mixed team gold medal. He also finished runner-up in the men’s singles.
Ng will take on Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia in the first round.
Veteran shuttler Liew Daren faces a daunting task as he takes on world No. 1 and former world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
Commonwealth Games women’s doubles champions Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah have a bye in the opening round, as do all four of Malaysia’s men’s doubles pairs – Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong.
In the women’s singles, Sonia Cheah and S. Kisona face Southeast Asian opponents in their opening matches.
Cheah takes on Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani, while Vietnam’s Tri Trang Vu will face Kisona.
This is the first time the World Championships will be held in Japan. A total of 385 players will compete in the annual event.
Malaysians in action in the World Championships (first round)
Men’s singles
Lee Zii Jia vs Brice Leverdez (Fra)
Liew Daren vs Viktor Axelsen (Den)
Ng Tze Yong vs Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo (Ina)
Women’s singles
Sonia Cheah vs Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina)
S. Kisona vs Tri Trang Vu (Viet)
Men’s doubles
Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (bye)
Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin (bye)
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (bye)
Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (bye)
Women’s doubles
Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (bye)
Vivian Hoo-Yap Cheng Wen vs Linda Efler-Isabel Lohau (Germany)
Low Yeen Yuan-Valeree Siow vs Treesa Jolly-Gayathri Gopichand (India)
Anna Cheong-Lim Chiew Sien vs Emma Moszczynski-Stine Küspert (Germany)
Mixed doubles
Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (bye)
Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai (bye)
Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei vs Mathew Fogarty-Isabel Zhong (US)
