NATIONAL shuttler Lee Zi Jia’s first round tournament exit jinx continued at the Japan Open.
On Wednesday (June 26), the former world No. 2 suffered his fourth consecutive first-round exit in as many months when he lost 20-22, 21-17, 21-19 to defending champion Kenta Nishimoto at the Japan Open in Tokyo.
To add to Lee’s woes, it was his ninth early round exit (including second rounds) from 11 World Tour tournaments this year and he had failed to get past the first round in his last three tournaments: Korea Open, Indonesia Open and the Singapore Open.
As a result, Lee has slipped down to No. 18 in the latest world rankings and will likely be unseeded in next month’s World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lee’s early tournament exits did not sit well with local badminton lovers, with one Facebook user @Nik Mohamad Idhan even hailing Lee as the “King of first round”.
User @Estrada Alphonsus pointed out that Lee’s failure to perform well is alarming and that his performances would have been better if he had stayed with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
Meanwhile, another Facebook user @Ammar Habib had called for Lee to retire from badminton as he has lost his passion to play badminton and suggested that BAM should instead focus on Ng Tze Yong and others.
User @Dilot Joe Adam claimed that Lee’s failure to get through the first round of a tournament is due to his lack of mental strength and the lack confidence in himself.
He also suggested that Lee return to BAM if he wished to resurrect his badminton career and get back his winning mentality.
However, not all netizens had something negative to say about Lee.
User @Prince Alex Villaflores Galupo defended Lee by saying that losing is a part of the game and it takes perseverance, time and practice to emerge victorious.
He also added that this was not the time to judge Lee but instead show support so that he can step up in the next tournaments.
User @Renee Tan also expressed hope that Lee will regain his confidence and momentum by training more in terms of persistence and mental strength. – July 27, 2023
