KUALA LUMPUR: A cloud is hanging over Lee Zii Jia's chances of qualifying for next month's World Tour Finals (WTF) after his exit in the China Masters first round in Shenzhen, today.
But the Malaysian World No. 7 remains confident of getting that WTF ticket to Hangzhou.
In a rematch of the Paris Olympics bronze medal playoff which the Malaysian won, Zii Jia succumbed 21-14, 13-21, 21-13 to India's world No. 17 Lakshya Sen today.
Ignominiously, this is Zii Jia's sixth early exit this year. He previously crashed out in the first round at the China Open, Japan Open, Singapore Open, French Open, and Malaysia Open.
The loss in Shenzen has imperiled Zii Jia's chances of making it to the WTF. He is currently ranked sixth on the Race to Finals rankings. Though eight men's singles players will qualify for the Hangzhou finals, Zii Jia's position can still be overtaken by others.
However, the former All England champion is optimisitc that he will still make it to the season-ending showpiece.
"I'm quite confident that I will qualify. Compared to the past three years, this is my best chance. I feel like I'm in a good position, fingers crossed, I will qualify," said Zii Jia.
"I will be watching the other games too, but I won't be cheering for anyone," the 26-year-old said in a post-match interview.
Zii Jia said he had a tough time getting through Sen's solid defence. "He played quite well; defensively, he was very good. He deserved to win today.
"I need to go back and work on a few things, especially limiting unforced errors," he said.
Zii Jia added that the China Masters was his last tournament before the WTF — that is if he qualifies for Hangzhou.