BWF China Masters 2023: Lee Zii Jia out in quarter-finals, season likely over
Barring a surprise number of withdrawals from next month's World Tour Finals, Lee's season is over after a straight-games defeat to Nishimoto Kenta at the China Masters.
Badminton
Lee Zii Jia's hopes of playing in the badminton World Tour Finals 2023 next month are all but over after suffering a quarter-final loss at the BWF China Masters 2023 in Shenzhen, People's Republic of China, on Friday (24 November), a tournament that's live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com in selected territories.
The world number 11, also ranked 11th in the race for the eighth and last Finals place, was downed by Japan's Nishimoto Kenta 11-21, 12-21. As Nishimoto was the man directly in front of him in the standings, Lee's Finals goal is now mathematically out of reach.
It was a disappointing end to the campaign for the Malaysian, who is guaranteed to finish the year 11th in the Race to Finals and is now effectively relying on three withdrawals from the Finals in order to secure an invitation to the season-ending event.
Lee is not entered in next week's last Super 300 event of the regular season, the India International, which would have given him one last shot at earning ranking points. However, the second half of his season since a quarter-final run at the Asian Games has been a positive one for the 25-year-old, who was ranked as low as 18th in the world at one point earlier this year.
With world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn automatically qualifying for the Finals, only the top seven men in the Race to Finals rankings will make the Hangzhou season-ender.
Seventh place is currently occupied by Denmark's Anders Antonsen, but Nishimoto will take the spot should he win the tournament on Sunday.
Meanwhile, India's H.S. Prannoy – one man who could mathematically still have overtaken Nishimoto – suffered a 9-21, 14-21 reverse at the hands of Nishimoto's Japanese colleague Naraoka Kodai, which all but ends his own chances.
Prannoy does, however, still have a good chance of moving himself up the rankings into one of the reserve spots should anyone ahead of him withdraw.
Matches from the BWF China Masters 2023 are available to stream live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app for mobile devices, subject to territorial restrictions.
Current men's singles Race to Finals rankings top 15
One Super 300 event, the India International, remains on the schedule next week, awarding 7,000 ranking points for the winner down to 1,670 points for losing in the first round.
Qualification status is provisional until confirmed by the Badminton World Federation and standings provided here are unofficial.
- Jonatan Christie, 86,810 (qualified)
- Li Shifeng, 85,160 points – will be on 87,820 points after China Masters (qualified)
- Viktor Axelsen, 84,450 points (qualified)
- Shi Yuqi, 84,330 points – will be on 88,650 points after China Masters (qualified)
- Anthony Ginting, 80,740 points – will be on 85,060 points after China Masters (qualified)
- Naraoka Kodai, 80,470 points – guaranteed to have at least 88,170 points after China Masters (qualified)
- Anders Antonsen, 77,390 points – will be on 81,710 points after China Masters
- Ng Tze Yong, 73,180 points – will be on 75,840 points after China Masters
- Kunlavut Vitidsarn, 71,520 points – will be on 75,840 points after China Masters (qualified as world champion)
- Nishimoto Kenta, 71,220 points – guaranteed to have at least 78,920 points after China Masters (will qualify for Finals if he wins China Masters final)
- Lee Zii Jia, 69,460 points – will be on 75,510 points after China Masters
- Chou Tien-chen, 68,620 points – will be on 71,280 points after China Masters (entered in India International, but cannot overtake Nishimoto even by winning the tournament)
- Weng Hongyang, 68,450 points – will be on 71,110 points after China Masters
- H.S. Prannoy, 67,190 points – will be on 73,240 points after China Masters (also entered in India International, and can only overtake Nishimoto by winning that tournament if Nishimoto does not reach the China Masters final and does not compete as scheduled in the India International)
- Loh Kean Yew, 66,370 points – will be on 69,030 points after China Masters