PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia (pic) still has a chance to qualify for the prestigious World Tour Finals from Dec 11-15 in Hangzhou despite having to miss the Denmark Open due to an ankle injury.
Zii Jia suffered a blow after hurting his ankle during his defeat to Japan’s world No. 13 Koki Watanabe in the quarter-finals of the Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland, recently.
The 26-year-old was unable to shrug off the issue and had no choice but to pull out of the Denmark tourney, which got under way in Odense yesterday.
“After arriving in Odense on Sunday, the hope and plan was still for Zii Jia to feature in the Denmark Open even after he suffered an ankle injury during the quarter-finals of the Arctic Open,” read a statement from Team LZJ.
“Zii Jia took to the courts today (yesterday) but discomfort around the ankle is preventing him to move at match-level quality.
“With further consideration, it is with a heavy heart that Zii Jia has to withdraw from the Denmark Open.”
It was a double blow for Zii Jia after he also went down three spots in the latest world rankings from No. 4 to No. 7.
The independent player, though, still has an opportunity to make the cut for the Tour Finals after moving up one rung to No. 5 in the Race to Hangzhou rankings.
Zii Jia, however, needs to maintain his position in the top eight to qualify and is hoping to recover in time for the back-to-back Japan Masters (Nov 12-17) and China Masters (Nov 19-24).
Meanwhile, current national No. 2 Leong Jun Hao slipped one rung from No. 29 to No. 30 in the latest world rankings after losing in the first round of the Arctic Open to Hong Kong’s world No. 15 Lee Cheuk Yiu.
It will not get any easier for Jun Hao as he is set to face a tough task in the opening round of the Denmark tourney today against Indonesia’s world No. 3 Jonatan Christie.
Jun Hao is Malaysia’s sole representative in the men’s singles in Odense in Zii Jia’s absence.
