P.V.Sindhu spars with Zii Jia ahead of All-England

Badminton fans had an extra reason to get excited about the All-England Open which begins on Tuesday after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) posted a video of P.V.Sindhu sparring with Lee Zii Jia.

Both shuttlers who are icons in India and Malaysia respectively, were seen engaging in a stroke-play in the short video posted up the world body.

It was content meant to get the fans talking, but both Sindhu and Lee will look to this iconic Super 1000 event to kickstart their season.

Sindhu has only played once at the World Tour event this year at the French Open last week, where she bowed out in the quarter-finals.

Lee, meanwhile, crashed out in the opening round of last week’s tournament, but will come to the All-England optimistic he can transform his fortunes at the Arena Birmingham.

The world number 10 has reached the All-England semi-finals in the last four years since 2020.

He reached the semis in 2020, 2022 and 2023 and was crowned champion in 2021 after beating Viktor Axelsen in the final.

But Lee will have to be at his best if he intends to have a memorable run this year too.

He faces a daunting task in the first round itself against Kodai Naraoka, whom he recently lost to at the India Open in January.

Lee and the rest of the Malaysian shuttlers who are poised to qualify for the Paris Olympics this July will need a big performance at the All-England against the rest of the top contenders who will all be seeking to do well in this major.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have meanwhile confirmed that the Malaysian contingent will spend 10 days at the Paris Olympics training camp in Aire-sur-la Lys which offers facilities and amenities for track, fitness and recovery sessions.

The national contingent will arrive at the training camp on July 14, where they will be based before checking into the Olympic Village in Paris.