Lee Zii Jia. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Injured men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia is aiming to make his competitive return at the US Open from June 24-29 in Iowa.
World No. 9 Zii Jia has been hampered by a right ankle ligament injury and only managed to compete in two tournaments this year - the Orleans Masters and All-England last month.
The 27-year-old was granted ranking protection by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) last month due to his injury and hopes to return in the World Tour Super 300 event but only if he can regain full fitness in time for the US tourney.
"I'm hoping to make my comeback at the US Open but only if I'm 100 percent recovered," said Zii Jia.
"If anything feels off, I won't rule out delaying my return. My recovery is progressing but it's a race against time.
"I've been working with Team LZJ to return as soon as possible but only when I'm fully recovered."
Zii Jia has not been included in the team in the Sudirman Cup from April 27-May 4 in Xiamen, China due to his injury and will also miss the Malaysian Masters (May 20-25), Singapore Open (May 27-June 1) and Indonesian Open (June 3-8).
