PETALING JAYA، Nov 21 — Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia (pic) looks set to secure his spot in the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou next month، despite a first-round exit at the China Masters.

Zii Jia، who is sixth in the Race to Hangzhou، can breathe a sigh of relief as the two shuttlers below him، Japan’s Koki Watanabe and China’s Li Shifeng، also suffered early exits in Shenzhen yesterday، The Star reported.

The World No. 7 was sent packing early after No. 17 Lakshya Sen of India defeated him 21-14,13-21,21-13 in the opening round at the Shenzhen Gymnasium.

However، with Watanabe falling to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and Shifeng losing to Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi، projected points calculations show Zii Jia securing his ticket to the Finals، scheduled from Dec 11-15.

After missing the cut for the past two editions of the Finals، Zii Jia is confident he will be competing in Hangzhou next month. "This year is the best chance for me to qualify، I’m in a good position so fingers crossed I will make it، ” Zii Jia said، according to The Star.

The fixture against Lakshya was a rematch of the Paris Olympics bronze medal match، which Zii Jia won.

However، Lakshya exacted his revenge this time، leading their head-to-head with five wins out of seven meetings.