PETALING JAYA, Oct 26 — After being sidelined by injury, professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia is now raring to return to the court and smash his way to the World Tour Finals (WTF) 2024 to be held from Dec 11-15 in Hangzhou, China.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games bronze medallist hoped to solidify his position in his two remaining tournaments to reach the pinnacle event in Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium, which offers a total prize of US$2.5 million (RM10.8 million).
“I have got two tournaments left, which are Japan Masters 2024 followed by China Masters 2024. Of course, I will try my best (to reach WTF Finals),” he said when met after the Sports Victory Prize Scheme (SHAKAM) presentation ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games last night.
Zii Jia is fifth in the WTF 2024 rankings with 69,900 points.
Only the top eight in all categories (singles and doubles) qualify for the WTF 2024, with each country allowed to send a maximum of two representatives.
Last week, the current world number seven player withdrew from the Denmark Open 2024 in Odense due to ankle discomfort, an injury he suffered when losing to Koki Watanabe of Japan 15-21, 21-13, 12-21 in the Artic Open 2024 at Vantaa, Finland.
The Kedahan expressed his gratitude upon receiving the RM100,000 from SHAKAM for his bronze medal win by defeating India’s Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 at Paris 2024 last August. — Bernama
