It’s not very often that a men’s singles shuttler spars with a women’s singles player. It becomes rarer when two champion shuttlers are in question. But on Tuesday, it was indeed a special moment when former world champion on two-time Olympic medalist, India’s PV Sindhu sparred with Malaysian former world no. 2 Lee Zii Jia, before his first round match.
Prior to stepping on court against Kodai Naraoka of Japan, Lee practiced with Sindhu, and the results were for everyone to see. The Malaysian beat the world no. 6 in straight games 21-12, 21-19. The video went viral on social media.
Upon being asked the reason behind training with Sindhu, Lee had a straightforward answer to it. Nz Tze Yong, another singles specialist from Malaysia had pulled out of the All England tournament, and he had to find another partner for sparring.
Lee added that he was surprised to see the strength behind Sindhu’s shots, which showed, why she’s a former world champion. Meanwhile, Sindhu would be hoping that this practice session helps her get a favorable result as well, as she takes on world no. 1 An Se Young from South Korea in the second round on Thursday. In round 1, she beat Y Li of Germany, with the latter pulling out after the first game.
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