Lee Zii Jia, Malaysia’s No.1 badminton shuttler has made a shocking announcement following his early exit from the Indonesia Open 2023. Lee, who was the All England Open champion in 2021, lost to India’s Lakshya Sen in the R32 of this season’s tournament and has decided to take some time off from professional badminton.
The last few months have been a rather difficult period for the World No.11 with his best results this season being semi-final appearances at the All England Open and Swiss Open tournaments. In particular, Lee’s performance has gone downhill since the Sudirman Cup where he was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Kenta Nishimoto of Japan.
Lee’s coach and manager, Dato Lee Chong Wei expressed his disappointment at the news, but also revealed that Lee had been struggling mentally for some time and had decided to prioritise his health before anything else. He added that they were thankful for all the support they have gotten so far from fans all over the world who will surely miss Lee’s presence on court.
Lee himself has not spoken publicly about his decision yet, but it is likely that this setback will be a temporary one and he might still make a return to the badminton circuit in the future. In any case, fans of Lee Zii Jia can only hope that he takes some well-deserved rest and finds the motivation and determination to continue playing at his best level.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s badminton team will have to look for a new player in the men’s singles category as Lee Zii Jia has been an important part of their lineup ever since he joined in 2021. It is yet unclear who the Malaysian Badminton Association will pick as Lee’s replacement, but they will certainly have their work cut out for them in finding a suitable fill-in.
