Lee Zii Jia is almost certain to play for Malaysia in the semifinal. His presence is expected to guarantee victory in the first singles match in the Selangor Badminton Asia Team Championships 2022. It was estimated that Lee Zii Jia would face Jeon Hyeok-jin.
On paper, Lee Zii Jia who is ranked #7 in the world is favored to win the match. This is because Jeon Hyeok-jin only has a world ranking of #2075. But on the field, anything can happen. Jeon Hyeok-jin had already proved himself to be a worthy opponent in the Group A preliminary match on February 17th. He was able to defeat Indonesia's first single, Chico Aura Wardoyo, who is far above him, ranked #55 in the world. He won 18-21, 21-15, 21-19. However, the victory did not bring South Korea to win because they lost 2-3 in the end.
If he is able to win, Lee Zii Jia's point contribution is very important and can pave the way for Malaysia to be able to continue to the finals and pursue their ambition to become the champion. On the other side, Korea also did not come with their best players. Of the 10 athletes registered, only three players have world rankings.
Malaysia qualified for the semifinals with the status of the winner of Group B with three unbeaten matches. Meanwhile, Korea is in second place in Group A because they lost once to Indonesia. Korea eventually won the group after being able to beat India 3-2 in their last match on Friday (18/2/2022). In the other Men’s Team semifinals, Indonesia will be challenged by Singapore.
On the other hand, Chico from Indonesia, ranked 55th in the world, lost his last match. He lost two straight games 18-21, 25-27 to India's Sen Lakshya, who is ranked 13th in the world and recently won the 2022 India Open.
For the women's group, Indonesia will go straight to the final after Japan’s team withdrew due to several players feeling unfit to play. Indonesia is the winner of Group Z with Korea as the runner-up. While Malaysia is the winner of Group Y, accompanied by Japan.
The passage of Malaysia and Indonesia with the status of group winners is quite surprising. But who would have thought, two tough countries, Japan and South Korea could be defeated in the preliminary round.
However, it is still not a guarantee that Indonesia and Malaysia can meet in the race for the championship. The mental and unyielding spirit of the women's badminton players from Korea will be a tough challenge for Malaysia to get their ticket to the final.
