Zii Jia fears his bravado has cost him dearly
NATIONAL men’s singles Lee Zii Jia fears he has aggravated his injury.
Despite suffering from an IT band complication, the 19-yearold played on in the Malaysia International Challenge in Pasir Gudang, and as a result crashed out in the quarter-finals yesterday.
He lost 21-15, 21-17 to fifth seed Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam.
Zii Jia is now worried that he may have aggravated his injury which could cost him dearly especially ahead of important tournaments next year.
“I had this injury before coming here (Pasir Gudang), but it didn’t seem serious then. I wanted to play on but clearly I couldn’t.
“Not taking anything away from Tien Minh though, he played brilliantly and showed me what it meant to have experience.
“I am now worried. It will be important next season and I don’t want to miss it due to injury,” said Zii Jia.
If the injury is not serious, the Kedah-born will travel to Gwangju City for the Korea Masters GP Gold on Nov 28-Dec 3.
Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin made the semi-finals with a 13-21, 21-14, 21-10 win over compatriot Cheam June Wei. He takes on Tien Minh today. It was the end of the road for Chong Yee Han who lost 21-17, 1821, 21-17 to Indonesia’s Firman Abdul Kholik.
In women’s singles, fourth seed Ho Yen Mei and Lim Yin Fun were ousted by Indonesian opponents.
Yen Mei lost 21-18, 11-21, 21-17 to Ruselli Hartawan while Lim Yin Fun went down 21-16, 21-18 to Gabriela Meilani Moningka.