KUALA LUMPUR – World number nine men’s singles player Anders Antonsen of Denmark believes the local media should not be so hard on independent shuttler Lee Zii Jia and national shuttler Ng Tze Yong.
“Don’t be so hard on them,” said the Dane after his hard-fought victory over Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open today.
At the same time, Antonsen said that he has very little advice to offer both players as they are both top shuttlers and will do well in the future.
“I always get asked this question about Zii Jia and Tze Yong whenever I’m here in Malaysia.
“But there will always be ups and downs in sport and life, just like it was for me and everyone else.
“My one advice would be… for you guys (the media) don’t be so hard on them.
“Everyone can play well at certain times and at other times it’s not working,” he said.
Meanwhile, Antonsen beat Naraoka 16-12, 21-12, 21-7 in an hour and 17 minute long match.
For his part, the 26-year-old went through an injury-plagued 2022 which saw his ranking drop.
Since then he has managed to claw his way back up the rankings.
In the next round, Antonsen will play Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-yi who pulled off a sensational upset over world number three Li Shifeng from China.
“I have never played him, but I know he is a left-handed up-and-coming player.
“He has a really good attack so yeah it is going to be interesting to see if I can solve that puzzle.
“I see it as an open match and can go both ways we have to wait and see,” he said. – January 12, 2024