PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia (pic) is staying positive despite an injury-plagued year and hopes to make his competitive return in the Malaysian Open from Jan 6-11 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
Zii Jia, who pulled out of the Syed Modi India International which starts next Tuesday in Lucknow which effectively ended his season, opened up on his injury issues this year via a heartfelt social media post yesterday.
“Hi all. Zii Jia here. It’s been a while since I’ve written. As you all know, 2025 has been somewhat of a challenging year and also a learning curve when it comes to managing my physical health,” said Zii Jia.
“There are days when I feel on top of the world and there are days when I feel the effects of coming back from that ankle injury and the nagging back pain.
“Since my last competitive match at the China Masters in September, my team and I have been working closely with medical experts on how to best move forward in ensuring that I am able to compete to the best of my abilities.
“After taking into account all the feedbacks and most importantly listening to my body, I feel it’s best to close the chapter on 2025 and focus on the upcoming 2026 calendar.
“To say that it has been a rollercoaster of a year physically and emotionally would be an understatement, but there has also been a lot of discovery about myself, who knew that art is something that I am fond of.
“My thanks goes out to a lot of people, my family, friends, my team, my sponsors, who are in my corner since day one and of course the fans who I look forward to seeing again soon.
“I remain motivated and spirited to return to the court. January is just around corner. Sincerely, Zii Jia,” concluded Zii Jia.
Zii Jia has had a stop-start year and has dropped 20 spots from No. 63 to No. 83 in the latest world rankings due to his long absence from competitions.
The independent player’s injury woes have seen him compete in only five tournaments this year.
Zii Jia only won two matches in total this year in the Orleans Masters in March where he made it into the quarter-finals.
The 27-year-old suffered first-round defeats in his other tournaments this year - the World Championships, All-England, China Masters and Hong Kong Open.
Zii Jia’s ranking is also expected to drop further following his earlier withdrawal from the ongoing Australian Open in Sydney as he captured the title last year and will not be able to defend his ranking points.
The 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medallist though does have a protected ranking of No. 9 which will enable him to compete in top tier events until March next year.
Zii Jia will be hoping to recover fully from his troublesome back injury in time for the Malaysian Open.
The other World Tour tournaments in January will be the Indian Open (Jan 13-18), Indonesian Masters (Jan 20-25) and Thailand Masters (Jan 27-Feb 1).
