PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia was left frustrated after missing out on his first win of 2026 at the Indian Open.
Zii Jia, who was making his second competitive appearance after an injury-riddled 2025, showed glimpses of his old self against Denmark’s world No. 27 Rasmus Gemke but it was not enough to earn him the win he craved as he went down 13-21, 21-18, 18-21 in a hard-fought 62-minute match at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi yesterday.
The defeat meant that the independent player is still searching for his first win since reaching the Orleans Masters quarter-finals last March.
While clearly disappointed with the defeat, Zii Jia felt that he was making progress after losing in straight games to India’s Ayush Shetty in the opening match of the Malaysian Open a week ago.
“Definitely, I want to win a match so much for my self-confidence,” said Zii Jia in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“After everything I’ve been through, I needed this win but it seems it’s not enough to finish the match well at the end in the third game.
“Compared to how I performed in the Malaysian Open though, there are a lot of improvements. We can see some positive progress.”
Zii Jia was playing for the first time under Liew Daren after the latter replaced Yeoh Kay Bin as his coach after the home Open.
The 27-year-old did well to come back and win the second game after tamely going down in the opening game.
In the decider, Zii Jia came as close as 18-19 but could not overtake Gemke at the end.
The 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medallist admitted that he was going through a tough time as he battles to regain both fitness and form following his injury issues last year.
Zii Jia suffered ankle and back injuries which restricted him to only five tournaments in 2025.
“Injuries are always a big challenge for athletes. For myself, I’m going through a very tough process and as I said, I will try my best to come back again,” said Zii Jia.
“Injuries-wise, I’m getting better but physically, I need to regain some confidence. I need to keep competing in tournaments to get back my momentum.
“I have to accept this defeat and try to bounce back in the Indonesian Masters (next week).”
Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s singles in India though is not over yet as both Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh will open their respective campaigns today.
Jun Hao will face Japan’s Yushi Tanaka while Justin, who was promoted to the main draw from the reserves list, will take on China’s Lu Guangzu.
The 21-year-old Justin will be making his debut in a World Tour Super 750 competition.
