Lee Zii Jia to return to competition at 2023 BWF World Tour Korea Open
The Malaysian, who is now ranked world number 16 after taking time away from the sport, will be seeded 8th in Yeosu, Republic of Korea, for his first tournament with new coach Wong Tat Meng.
Badminton
He's back. Lee Zii Jia will make his competitive badminton return a month after stepping away from the sport in what he said at the time was a bid to "find the passion on the court".
The tournament pencilled in for the 25-year-old's comeback is the BWF World Tour Super 500 Korea Open 2023, which will be held from 18–23 July in Yeosu, Republic of Korea. Action from the event will be live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com in some regions, with ranking points towards Paris 2024 qualification also available.
Despite the Malaysian having tumbled down the world rankings to number 16, Lee is seeded eighth in Yeosu, which will also be his debut under new coach Wong Tat Meng, a former Malaysian international.
His first opponent at the Korea Open will be Hong Kong China's Ng Ka Long Angus, who will not be an easy opponent as the Malaysian has a career 1–3 record against Ng.
There is an added twist to the encounter as Zii Jia's new coach Wong's last job was serving as head coach for the Hong Kong Badminton Association – training players including Ng – until he resigned in May to join Lee's team.
After the Korea Open, Wong has targeted the Japan Open (25–30 July) and Australian Open (1–6 August) for Lee to show himself before deciding on a dedicated training programme for his new charge.
"Zii Jia needs to have the confidence to do well," the coach said in a video released by Lee's team. "The public believes that he can make it, so he needs to think the same.
"He has the talent to succeed, but he needs to learn to handle the immense pressure that comes with being at the top."