PETALING JAYA: Fans at the Malaysian Masters will not get the chance to catch home favourite Lee Zii Jia compete at the Unifi Arena after the men’s singles shuttler turned down a chance to play in the qualifying rounds starting today.
A spot opened up for Zii Jia in the Super 500 tournament following the withdrawal of world No. 1 Shi Yuqi of China, world No. 3 Anders Antonsen of Denmark, and India’s S. Sankar Muthusamy.
The former national No. 1 Zii Jia’s form hit rock bottom in recent tournament after he lost in the first round of the Thailand Open.
Antonsen opted to skip Malaysia after his Thailand Open victory on Sunday, where he came from behind to beat home favourite Kunlavut Vitidsarn 9-21, 24-22, 21-18 in a long 97-minute battle.
The withdrawals of the three players have instead given way for three Malaysians in world No. 88 Cheam June Wei, Jacky Kok (91), and Lim Ming Hong (117), to enter the qualifying rounds.
