Jakarta: Malaysia’s World No. 11 men’s singles player – Lee Zii Jia, made a surprising announcement on Wednesday following his defeat to Indian shuttler – World No. 20 Lakshya Sen in the first round of the Indonesia Open. Lee expressed his decision to take a temporary break from the sport for an undisclosed period of time. After the 33-minute match, in an interview with the official website of the World Badminton Federation, he revealed that he would step away from badminton until he rediscovers his passion for the game.
(video: Sinchew)
Acknowledging Lakshya Sen’s exceptional performance, Lee Zii Jia stated, “Today, Lakshya Sen played exceptionally well. At this point, I want to take a break from badminton. I am uncertain about how long the break will be, but I will step away temporarily until I regain the right motivation.”
Furthermore, Lee Zii Jia also mentioned that he is currently not thinking about the 2024 Paris Olympics qualification. He realized that he has been lacking full commitment and concentration on the court. He emphasized the importance of taking a break to recharge himself. Lee Zii Jia remarked, “My primary aspiration right now is to rekindle my passion for the sport. Although I performed admirably in the Sudirman Cup, there has been a significant decline since then.”
Responding to inquiries from “Sin Chew Daily”, the Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia Hannah Yeoh stated that Lee Zii Jia’s decision would be discussed during the upcoming meeting of the “Road to Gold” (RTG) project team, scheduled for next Monday.
After the match, Sen held a 3-1 career advantage over Lee.
The Indonesia Open was Lee’s fourth first-round exit in 2023. He also had early exits in three tournaments below:
Malaysia Open in January 2023: Defeated by Kodai Naraoka (Japan) – 21-13, 17-21, 19-21
Badminton Asia Championships in April 2023: Defeated by Ng Ka Long (Hong Kong) – 19-21, 16-21
Singapore Open in June 2023: Defeated by Weng Hongyang (China) – 20-22, 21-16, 19-21
