SHAH ALAM – Malaysia’s Olympic bronze medalist Lee Zii Jia faced an unexpected early exit at the 2024 Japan Open, dampening his aspirations of gaining momentum in the international badminton scene.
Zii Jia took to his official Instagram account to share that he had been feeling physically weak following his return from the Olympics.
"Skipping tournaments wasn’t part of the plan as long as I felt it wouldn’t harm me.
"I tried my best and fought through the match, but my body didn’t allow me to perform to the best of my abilities.
"I’m looking forward to a good rest and recovery for upcoming tournaments," he posted on Tuesday.
Ranked among the world’s top players, Zii Jia encountered a tough challenge in Yokohama against France's Alex Lanier.
Despite being ranked sixth and displaying promising form early in the match, Zii Jia was unable to replicate his recent successes.
He struggled against Lanier’s relentless attacks and consistent play, ultimately falling to the world No 29 shuttler in straight sets, with scores of 18-21, 13-21 in just 41 minutes during the Super 750 tournament at the Yokohama Arena.
Meanwhile, according to local media, two of Malaysia’s national men’s doubles pairs, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri, met expectations by advancing to the second round.
Sze Fei and Izzuddin, the eighth seeds, secured a convincing 21-13, 21-13 victory over Japan's Kazuki Shibata and Naoki Yamada, setting up a second-round clash against Taiwan’s Liu Huang Keng and Yang Po Han.
The Taiwanese pair earlier prevented an all-Malaysian matchup by defeating Low Hang Yee and Ng Eng Cheong 21-13, 21-17.
In another match, Hon Jian and Haikal fought back after losing the first set to overcome Germany’s Bjaerne Geiss and Jan Colin Voelker 12-21, 21-11, 21-16 in a 55-minute battle.
However, the unseeded Malaysian duo now face a tough challenge against second seeds Fajar Alfian and Rian Ardianto, after the Indonesian pair won a tight three-setter 22-20, 13-21, 21-14 against China’s Xie Hao Nan and Zeng Wei Han.
In the women’s singles, professional shuttler Goh Jin Wei was unable to progress to the next round, falling to third seed Wang Zhi Yi of China with scores of 18-21, 10-21.