Singles aces in different places

PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia has officially qualified for the Paris Olympics while Ng Tze Yong’s hopes of making the cut is as good as over.

Zii Jia, who is currently in 10th spot in the Race to Paris rankings, is set to make his second appearance in the showpiece event in July.

The 25-year-old is likely to be the sole men’s singles representative for Malaysia in the Olympics as Tze Yong is still struggling to shrug off a back issue that has been plaguing him since January. The latter underwent a minor surgery last month and has withdrawn from the Spain Masters in Madrid, which starts next Tuesday.

It also looks unlikely that Tze Yong will recover in time for the Asian Championships in Ningbo, China, from April 9-14.

The Asian meet, which is equivalent to a World Tour Super 1000 tournament, is the last qualifying event for the Olympics.

If Tze Yong misses the tournament, his hopes of making his debut in the Olympics is officially over.

Meanwhile, Zii Jia needs to move into the top eight in the rankings by July 2 to get a seeding in the Olympics.

A good showing in the Asian meet will boost the independent player’s rankings.

Zii Jia is currently recovering from a leg injury sustained in the ongoing Swiss Open in Basel.

He picked up the injury in his opening match against Taiwan’s Su Li-yang but it did not stop him from coming away with a 21-19, 21-12 win.

Zii Jia, though, felt the effects of the injury in the second round against India’s K. Srikanth and lost out 16-21, 15-21.

He will now try to return to full fitness ahead of the Asian meet, which he won in 2022.

The other tournaments that will be on Zii Jia’s radar ahead of the Olympics are the Malaysian Masters (May 21-26), Singapore Open (May 28-June 2) and Indonesian Open (June 4-9).

Zii Jia is also likely to be selected in the team for the Thomas Cup Finals from April 27-May 5 in Chengdu.