PETALING JAYA: National men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia lost to an unheralded Israeli player in the opening round of the Thailand Open today – another blow to his comeback bid after an injury-stricken 2025.
The world No 67 shuttler lost 20-22, 10-21 to Daniil Dubovenko in a match lasting 38 minutes at the Nimibitr Stadium in Bangkok, in what was his fourth first round elimination in seven Badminton World Federation championships this year.
Zii Jia appeared unfit as he virtually gave away the second game after fighting hard in the first, where he even held game point at one stage.
In the qualifying round yesterday, the former Malaysian No 1 player had to fight hard to win both his matches against unranked players.
The former All England champion has only managed to enter two quarter-finals this year and that, too, in lower tier tournaments under the World Tour Super 300 events.
The Thailand Open is a Super 500 event.
Separately, Malaysia’s lone representative in the women’s singles category, Goh Jin Wei, was beaten by Thai rookie Yataweemin Ketklieng 21-13, 19-21, 16-21 in 60 minutes.
The Malaysian found it hard to end rallies in her favour as her rival played her heart out in front of the home crowd.
