Lee Zii Jia has a favorable chance to avoid another early exit from a badminton World Tour tournament this week at the BWF Australian Open 2023, taking place from 1–6 August.
Lee, who represents Malaysia as the world number 18, has faced consecutive first-round defeats in his past four World Tour tournaments, even after returning from a mandated break. In an attempt to regain his peak performance, Lee is currently in Sydney for the tournament. The event will be livestreamed on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com (territorial restrictions may apply).
The Australian Open is the last of three consecutive tournaments that Lee’s new coach, Wong Tat Meng, has chosen to set a benchmark for their future training collaboration. Nevertheless, Zii Jia experienced round-of-32 eliminations at both the Korea Open and Japan Open, as well as a first-round knockout at the Indonesia and Singapore Opens prior to his break.
As the qualifying ranking window for the Paris 2024 Olympics is currently open, Lee needs crucial qualifying points to secure a chance to represent Malaysia in the French capital next year, where he currently trails Ng Tze Yong among Malaysian shuttlers.
In the first round of the Sydney tournament, Lee has been matched against a qualifier, potentially even his Malaysian teammates Leong Jun Hao or Cheam June Wei, who are set to face each other in the qualifying draw.
If Lee manages to advance to the second round, he may face Loh Kean Yew, the Singaporean fourth seed, who recently reached the Korea Open final despite inconsistent performances this year.
If Zii Jia secures a spot in the quarterfinals, he will likely face Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie.
Australian Open badminton 2023: How to watch on TV and livestream online
You can watch the badminton Australian Open 2023 on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com (territorial restrictions may apply).
The tournament will also be available on the BWF TV YouTube channel and on various domestic television broadcasters, including Astro in Malaysia. To find specific details, please check local listings.
For fans in Malaysia, the tournament will be two hours ahead of Malaysian time.
If you are unable to watch the matches live, look out for comprehensive reports on the results and highlights from the event on Olympics.com.
