KUALA LUMPUR — Lee Zii Jia’s hopes of qualifying for the season-ending World Tour Finals hang in the balance after the independent men’s singles shuttler withdrew from the Super 750 Denmark Open.
According to an official statement issued by his professional team, Team LZJ, the 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medallist has yet to fully recover from the ankle injury he sustained during the recent Arctic Open.
Zii Jia, who won the Arctic Open last year, suffered a 21-15, 13-21, 21-12 defeat to Japan’s Koki Watanabe in the quarter-finals on Friday.
“After arriving in Odense on Sunday, the hope and plan were still for Zii Jia to compete in the Denmark Open, even after he sustained an ankle injury during the Arctic Open quarter-finals.
“Zii Jia took to the courts today (Monday), but discomfort around the ankle is preventing him from moving at match-level quality.
“After further consideration, it is with a heavy heart that Zii Jia has had to withdraw from this year’s Denmark Open,” read the statement shared on social media.
For the record, Zii Jia reached the final last year before going down to China’s Weng Hong Yang 21-12, 21-6.
Based on the current Race to Finals standings, Zii Jia is still within the top eight qualifying spots, but the list is expected to change after this week.
It is worth noting that Zii Jia still has the Super 500 Kumamoto Masters from November 12-17 and the Super 750 China Masters from November 19-24 to secure his place in the US$2.5 million (RM10.7 million) World Tour Finals, scheduled for December 11-15 in Hangzhou, China.
Following this latest development, Malaysia’s men’s singles duties at the Denmark Open will rest on world number 29 Leong Jun Hao, who faces fourth seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the opening round tomorrow. – October 15, 2024