KUALA LUMPUR – Paris Olympics bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia suffered a shock first-round exit at the Japan Open today, losing in straight games, 21-18, 21-13, to France’s Alex Lanier.
His professional team, Team LZJ, shared in a social media update that Zii Jia had done his best despite not being in top form since the Olympics.
“Congratulations to Alex on the win; he played a fantastic match.
“Zii Jia gave it his all on the court, despite his physical condition having worsened since the Paris Olympics. His condition will be assessed once the team returns to Malaysia,” read Team LZJ’s statement.
Despite his early exit, Zii Jia is almost assured of a spot in the season-ending World Tour Finals in December. He is currently ranked number three in the Race to Finals standings, where only the top eight qualify.
It is also possible that Zii Jia, despite not being in peak condition, made the trip to Japan to avoid a fine from the Badminton World Federation.
Meanwhile, Zii Jia’s good friend Goh Jin Wei also crashed out in the first round, losing 21-18, 21-10 to China’s third seed Wang Zhiyi in the women’s singles.
Earlier, national men’s doubles duo Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, who are reportedly leaving the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) later this month, advanced to the second round after comfortably defeating Japan’s Kazuki Shibata and Naoki Yamada 21-13, 21-13.
World number 12s Sze Fei and Izzuddin will face Taiwan’s Liu Kuang-heng and Yang Po-han next for a place in the quarter-finals.
The Taiwanese pair had earlier bested Malaysia’s independent duo Low Hang Yee and Ng Eng Cheong 21-13, 21-17 in the opening round.
Another BAM pair, Choong Hon Jian and Haikal Nazri, reached the second round after clawing back from a game down to defeat Germany’s Bjarne Geiss and Jan Colin Voelker 12-21, 21-11, 21-16.
They, however, face a tough challenge next as they are up against Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. – August 20, 2024