Japanese shuttler ends Zii Jia’s run at Canada Open

 Riki Takei won in three games to foil the Malaysian's hopes of making his first final appearance in a World Tour tournament in two years.

Lee Zii Jia led 17-14 in the decider against Japanese player Riki Takei before eventually losing 13-21, 21-18, 18-21. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

National shuttler Lee Zii Jia failed to enter his first World Tour final in two years after he went down fighting to a much younger Japanese player in the men’s singles semi-final of the Canada Open this morning.

Zii Jia, 28, ranked world No 60, lost to lower-ranked Riki Takei 13-21, 21-18, 18-21 in a match lasting 70 minutes at the Pan Am Centre in Markham, Ontario.

The former All England champion and Olympic bronze medallist, who made a breakthrough in his comeback bid by reaching the semi-finals for the first time since June 2024, fought hard to take a 17-14 lead in the decider but eventually lost to the fitter Riki, who is six years younger than him.

However, it was Zii Jia’s best performance since his return to competitive badminton in January after a seven-month layoff due to an ankle injury.

He had only reached the quarter-final stage once in the previous 10 tournaments, and was eliminated in the first round on five occasions.

He last entered a World Tour final at the Australian Open in 2024 where he went on to lift the title. - FMT