PETALING JAYA: Men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia suffered a huge blow after his hopes of competing in the All-England from March 3-8 in Birmingham were dashed.
Based on the list of names of players released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), Zii Jia, who made his comeback in the Malaysian Open earlier this month after an injury-hit 2025, found himself 16th in the reserves list and will not get to play in the Super 1000 competition for the first time since making his debut in the 2020 edition.
The 27-year-old captured the title in 2021 after sensationally toppling Denmark's defending champion Viktor Axelsen in the final.
However, Zii Jia dropped out of the world's top 100 rankings last year after ankle and back injuries restricted him to only five tournaments.
While the independent player has a protected ranking of No. 9 which granted him access to the World Tour Super 1000 home Open and Super 750 Indian Open, it expires before the All-England.
Zii Jia, who is currently ranked No. 103 in the world, needs to climb back into the top 32 to compete in top tier events after this.
For now, the 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medallist will still get to play in the Super 300 Thailand Masters which starts next Tuesday in Bangkok and German Open from Feb 24-March 1 in Mulheim.
