KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — The hopes of local badminton fans to see Lee Zii Jia continue his participation in the 2024 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China were dashed after the national men’s singles player was forced to withdraw due to an ankle injury.
In his final group match against China’s Li Shi Feng, he was leading 15-11 in the second set when he had to retire, with the injury believed to have occurred when the score was 13-5.
Lee had already secured a place in the semi-finals following two victories over Taiwan’s Chou Tien Chen and Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, but will now longer feature in the round.
In the meantime, TeamLZJ on X (formerly Twitter) said that he was currently receiving the necessary medical treatment.
“Lee Zii Jia’s participation at the #BWFWorldTourFinals2024 has unfortunately ended due to a right ankle injury,” they said.
Meanwhile, national men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani successfully advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Olympic gold medallists Lee Yang-Wang Chi Lin of Taiwan, 24-22, 21-12.
Elsewhere, national men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik failed to advance to the semi-finals after finishing third in Group B.
In their final Group B match, the former world champions lost 16-21, 16-21 to Indonesian pair Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani, in 41 minutes.
Following the result, Sabar and Reza emerged as runners-up and will join their teammates Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto, who topped Group B, in the semi-finals.
— Bernama
