SHAH ALAM – An onset of breathing difficulties has come back to haunt independent men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia, causing him to miss today’s crucial men’s team final match in the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) against China.
The match is scheduled to take place at Setia City Convention Centre this evening.
The announcement reverberated through the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) social media platforms, where they unveiled the lineup for today’s pivotal final match.
“After yesterday’s match, Lee Zii Jia experienced breathing difficulties due to his sinus condition and was unable to fully recover for today’s match.
“Get well soon, Zii Jia,” read the post.
With his absence from the starting lineup, the world number 10 ranked Zii Jia has missed a total of three out of six games in the BATC tournament.
The former All England Champion also missed the quarterfinals clash against Singapore on Friday due to his sinus issues.
To fill his void, Leong Jun Hao, who has been displaying consistent performance throughout the tournament, will be the first to take the court in today’s first men’s singles match against world number 16 Weng Hongyang.
19-year-old Eogene Ewe Eon will play in the third singles match against Lei Lan Xi, while national doubles player Muhammad Haikal will undergo a tactical switch in his game as he will be playing as the fourth men’s singles player against Wang Zheng Xing.
The men’s team qualified for the BATC final by defeating Japan 3-1 in yesterday’s semifinal clash, while China overpowered South Korea 3-2 in another semifinal match.
Malaysia has secured a spot in this year’s Thomas Cup finals in China, scheduled from April 28 to May 5, among the top four teams from BATC. – February 18, 2024