KUALA LUMPUR — It will not be easy, but Malaysia’s men’s singles star, Lee Zii Jia, still has a chance to finish the year on a high.
Despite struggling with what appears to be post-Olympic fatigue, Zii Jia, who dropped two places to world number five this week, has three more tournaments to turn things around—Super 500 Arctic Open, Super 750 Denmark Open, and Super 750 China Masters.
If the 26-year-old performs well in these events, he could secure a spot in the season-ending World Tour Finals, set to take place from December 11 to 15 in Hangzhou, China.
Currently ranked number six in the Race to Finals standings, the Paris Olympics bronze medallist needs to remain in the top eight after the China Masters to qualify for the prestigious tournament.
Team LZJ’s manager, Lee Zii Yii, who is also Zii Jia’s sister, told Scoop today: “Our focus now is on qualifying for the World Tour Finals. Zii Jia is working hard in preparation for the upcoming tournaments.”
Zii Jia enjoyed success in the same period last year, winning the Arctic Open title in Vantaa, Finland, and reaching the Denmark Open final the following week.
To be fair, it is not just Zii Jia who has experienced a dip in form post-Olympics. World number one Shi Yu Qi of China, Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, and silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, along with several other top players, have also faced similar struggles since the Paris Games.
A recent post by the UK-based Milton Keynes Badminton Academy on X (formerly Twitter) pointed out the challenges athletes face.
“Athletes have had very little time to deal with the personal emotions following Paris 2024. To put huge events like the China and Korea Opens within weeks isn’t player-oriented at all.”
Nevertheless, the pressure is on, as top players would not want to miss the World Tour Finals, which boasts a total prize fund of US$2.5 million (RM10.3 million), the largest of any badminton event. — September 25, 2024