SHAH ALAM - Lee Zii Jia has made a significant jump in the world rankings after reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open last week.
The 24-year-old Malaysian shuttler moved up four places to 13th in the world rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday.
Zii Jia's run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, a Super 500 tournament, earned him 6,420 points.
This was combined with his best nine tournaments of the year to give him a total of 56,576 points.
It is a significant jump for Zii Jia, who has been coached by Wong Tat Meng since the beginning of last July.
Zii Jia had been on a declining trend in the world rankings since mid-June, when he made a surprising decision to take a break from participating in any tournaments after losing in the first round of the Indonesia Open.
The Indonesia Open was the fourth tournament in a row that Zii Jia lost early, following the Singapore Open, Korea Open, and Japan Open.
Zii Jia's rise to 13th in the world rankings is a welcome boost for Malaysian badminton.
He is now the country's top-ranked men's singles player, ahead of Ng Tze Yong, who has dropped one place to 22nd in the world rankings.
Zii Jia will be looking to continue his good form in the upcoming tournaments, including the World Championships in Huelva, Spain, in December.