Malaysia men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia in action.
PETALING JAYA: A wounded Lakshya Sen of India can bury Lee Zii Jia’s (pic) chance of qualifying for the World Tour Finals.
Lakshya is still recovering from the bronze medal playoff defeat to Zii Jia at the Paris Olympic Games in August, and has a chance to avenge it in the first round of the China Masters starting today in Shenzen.
They have been drawn to face off in the opener, which is set to be one of the matches of the day.
The Malaysian has lost four of his six encounters to Lakshya and needs to be on top of his game to come away with a win this time.
A victory will see the Malaysian face either Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto or Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke in the second round.
Zii Jia could take on another Dane and world No. 3 Anders Antonsen if he reaches the last eight.
Both Zii Jia and Lakshya had a drab outing at last week’s Japan Masters.
Zii Jia lost to Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the quarter-finals while Lakshya was dumped in the opening round by Leong Jun Hao.
The Indian will be probably fresher than Zii Jia, but the Malaysian will not be lacking motivation.
He is out to qualify for the World Tour Finals, after missing out on the last two editions and only last made the cut in 2021.
Although he went down fighting to Jonatan in the last eight, Zii Jia kept his hopes of making the cut for the Finals alive but needs to reach the last eight again.
The China tourney is the last big competition that offers ranking points in the race to book a spot for the Finals.
Zii Jia is currently sixth in the Race to Hangzhou rankings and needs to remain in the top seven to qualify. Li Shifeng, who won the Japan Masters last week, leapfrogged from 15th to seventh spot.
Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, who made it into the last four in the Japan tourney, is already assured of a place by virtue of winning gold in the Paris Olympics in August.
Lakshya is out of the running for the Finals but if he takes Zii Jia down in the first round, he will open up the way for others - Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi, Koki Watanabe of Japan, Kodai Naraoka of Japan, and Lu Guangzu of China to fight for the Finals.
They too must do well to keep their hopes alive.
