Zii Jia forced to miss Asia Team Championships final

SHAH ALAM: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia will miss out on the Asia Team Championships final against China on Sunday (Feb 18) due to a sinus problem, which is a huge blow to the team.

The world No. 10 missed the team’s 3-1 win over Singapore in the quarter-finals on Friday (Feb 16) after he was hampered by the same issue but returned to inspire the team to victory by the same scoreline against Japan in the last four a day later.

The problem though flared up again for Zii Jia, and he will not be able to play in the title decider against China, which is scheduled to start at 4pm at the Setia City Convention Center.

“After yesterday’s (Feb 17) match against Japan, Zii Jia had breathing difficulties due to his sinus and was not able to fully recover for today’s match,” read a statement from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).

With world No. 15 Ng Tze Yong also ruled out of the final with a back injury, world No. 38 Leong Jun Hao has been promoted to first singles and will take on China’s world No. 16 Weng Hongyang.

18-year-old Eogene Ewe will play in the second singles against world No. 35 Lei Lanxi.

Meanwhile, doubles player Mohd Haikal Nazri has been drafted in to play in the third singles.

If the tie goes to the decider, Haikal will face 227th ranked Wang Zhengxing.

In the first doubles, national No. 1 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are set to play against Xie Haonan-Zeng Weihan while Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani will take on Liu Yi-Ren Xingyu in the second doubles if the tie goes to the fourth match.

Lee Zii Jia, Sinus, Asia Team Championships, Final, Difficulties,