KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — Lee Zii Jia’s first competitive outing since May ended in an opening-round defeat in the men’s singles event at the World Championships badminton tournament at the Adidas Arena in Paris, France, today.
The 27-year-old national men’s singles professional shuttler, who is making a long-awaited return from an ankle injury, went down 17-21, 11-21 to South Korea’s Jeon Hyeok Jin in 41 minutes.
But Zii Jia was not perturbed.
“I’m happy to have completed my first match without any pain or injury. My upcoming target is to regain the tournament feel,” he said in an audio clip shared by the World Badminton Federation (BWF).
This was Zii Jia’s second loss to Hyeok Jin in five meetings.
Earlier, Wan Muhammad Arif Shaharuddin Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King brought joy to the Malaysian camp when they stormed into the second round after taking just 27 minutes to dispose of Japan’s Kenya Mitshuhashi-Hiroki Okamura 21-5, 21-13.
The Malaysians will next face Thailand’s Kitinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh, who received a first-round bye.
