Lee Zii Jia’s wait continues for his first BWF World Tour victory since reaching the quarter-finals of the Orleans Masters in early March.
The Malaysian’s hopes of returning to competitive badminton after a five-month injury layoff suffered another blow, this time at the China Masters today.
The world No 42 was forced to retire after trailing 6-14 in the rubber game against Taiwan’s Lin Chun Yi in the opening round at the Super 750 China Masters in Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China.
This is the third consecutive time he suffered first-round exit having bowed out in the BWF World Championships in Paris and Hong Kong Open.
Lee Zii Jia Exits China Masters In First Round
The Malaysian player took the first game 21-17 but narrowly lost the second 21-23.
Lee even had one match point before he had to end the match at 21-17, 20-22, 6-14.
In a closely contested first game, Lee Zii Jia put together a late surge to lead 19-17, converting his first game point after 18 minutes.
In a flash of brilliance, Lee Zii Jia took control early on in the second game, racing to a 9-4 advantage. But Lin Chun-Yi fought back to level things and even took a 17-15 lead.
The momentum swung back and fourth before Lee earned his first match point at 20-19. He could not seal the deal, and it went to a decider.
Lee’s lack of tournament play showed in the third game. Trailing 6-14, he signaled to the umpire that he could not continue.
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After crashing out in the first-round at the All England Open, Lee was out of action for five months due to an ankle injury.
Zii Jia, a bronze medallist at Paris Olympics 2024, had ranked as high as world No 2 previously. However, after early exits at the World Championships and Hong Kong Open, his odds of reclaiming a place among the world’s elite is shrouded with uncertainty.
