Malaysia men’s singles head coach Hendrawan is doing all he can to prepare Lee Zii Jia in the right frame of mind ahead of his crunch opener at the All-England Championships.

Lee takes on Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the opening match of the Super 1000 tournament, which was in doubt of taking place due to the growing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic in Europe.

"I have told him to prepare like the tournament is going ahead. At this point, even though he is training it is a little haywire because everything is so uncertain," said Hendrawan before the All-England was given the all clear.

Now that it’s confirmed, the task would be to get Lee into a competitive mode after being inactive for some time.

The world number 15 last played at the Asia Team Championships final against Anthony Ginting on February 16, where he lost in straight sets.

While Lee could be considered a favourite to beat Christie who endured a miserable outing at the Asian meet, Hendrawan didn’t see it that way.

The Indonesian lost several matches in Manila, including a defeat to the unheralded Cheam June Wei in the final.



"Cheam may have beaten Christie at the Asian meet, but he is a different character to Lee.

"What I can say is Lee is ready for the All-England both physically and mentally," said Hendrawan, who also added they are prepared for the Covid-19 health precautions upon landing in England.

"We will be tired from the travel, and of course there will also be health screenings. We must be focused all the way."

The national contingent are expected to depart from Malaysia for England on Saturday.

Several other national shuttlers will join their team-mates from France, having trained there ever since the German Open was called off due to Covid-19.