Professional badminton player Lee Zii Jia has withdrawn from the Denmark Open, which starts on Tuesday, October 15.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced that Lee, ranked fifth in the world and a finalist last year, is absent from the tournament due to an ankle injury.
His condition worsened during last week’s quarterfinal match at the Arctic Open against Japan’s Koki Watanabe.
Facing his former rival Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Shi Yuqi suffered a crushing defeat, losing 11-21, 9-21, and ending his journey at the China Open early. In the men’s singles round of 16 on September 19, world No. 1 Shi Yuqi still appeared passive in his performance.
Once upon a time, Shi Yuqi had dominated Ginting, winning 11 of their previous 13 matches. However, this latest defeat marks his third loss to Ginting since his return in 2022. After making his comeback at the World Championships in 2022, Shi Yuqi lost to Ginting in a grueling three-game battle. He was again defeated in the group stage of last year’s BWF World Tour Finals, where Ginting made a comeback. Compared to those matches, this time, Shi Yuqi was dispatched in just 27 minutes, with even his coach Sun Jun, who has trained him since childhood, shaking his head in disbelief from the sidelines.
When he was trailing 3-15 in the second game, Shi Yuqi requested a medical timeout to treat injuries to his left foot and back.
Since his disappointing quarterfinal finish at the Paris Olympics, Shi Yuqi has repeatedly expressed negative emotions. After defeating former world No. 1 Son Wan Ho at the Korea Open, he jokingly remarked, “I, the weakest world No. 1, have finally beaten him today.” When asked about his newly dyed hair, he responded, “I used to be afraid of perming it, but now that I’m close to retirement, why not change it up?” After winning his first-round match at the China Open, he couldn’t help but complain, “I didn’t perform well at the Olympics, so now I’m working overtime. The ones who played well are attending concerts, while I’m stuck here.”
After his second-round elimination, Shi Yuqi, who often speaks sarcastically, commented, “Today’s result was caused by both mental and physical injuries. I think I played pretty well.”
Having competed in three tournaments since the Olympics, Shi Yuqi has expressed confusion about how to change his current situation. He also thanked fans who urged him to rest, saying, “I’m also thinking about whether I should continue or if this is enough.” In the short term, however, Shi Yuqi still has a goal: to qualify for the year-end BWF World Tour Finals. “I need to participate in at least two more tournaments to secure enough points,” he said.
The year-end BWF World Tour Finals, held in Hangzhou, is the last tournament of the season. According to the rules, the top eight players from each discipline, based on their best 14 tournament results, will qualify for the finals, with a maximum of two players (or pairs) per association. Shi Yuqi, currently ranked world No. 1, is fighting for more ranking points.
In this tournament, China’s top three male singles players (Shi Yuqi, Li Shifeng, and Lu Guangzu) were all eliminated early, while Weng Hongyang and Lei Lanxi performed admirably. Weng Hongyang, who defeated Lee Cheuk Yiu in the first round, came from behind to beat Chou Tien Chen 20-22, 21-18, 21-15 in the second round. Lei Lanxi, who previously knocked out Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, comfortably defeated Kenta Nishimoto 21-8, 21-17.
Additionally, the highly anticipated men’s doubles pair Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang were defeated 19-21, 21-18, 17-21 by Fikri/Maulana, falling short of reaching the quarterfinals.
Ranked 56th in the world, Jason Gunawan has achieved several victories in his budding career, the most recent being in the first round of the 2024 Li-Ning Hong Kong Open.
His victim, Kenta Nishimoto, is ranked 45 spots higher than Gunawan and shares the leaderboard with Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo and four-time Olympian Misha Zilberman.
However, Gunawan has yet to reach the quarterfinals of an HSBC BWF World Tour event, a goal he is targeting at his home tournament this year.
“For me, it’s been a good season. I’ve surprised some higher-ranked opponents, but I haven’t been able to reach the semifinals or make back-to-back quarterfinals,” the 20-year-old said after defeating Nishimoto 21-13, 21-18. “I hope I can do better in the coming months, starting with this tournament.”
When asked what it would take to make that next step, Gunawan responded: Patience. It all depends on patience.
“It’s much tougher playing against top players, and you feel more fatigued from using too much energy. Maybe my recovery isn’t good enough yet. I need to learn to do better in the future, and that’s something I want to improve.”
Gunawan has lofty ambitions. Reflecting on his win against Nishimoto, Gunawan said: “It’s unbelievable. I just focused on every point and didn’t think about winning or losing. I wanted to challenge my opponent and do my best.
“I was mentally prepared for a three-game match. He chased every ball, which I didn’t expect, but I hope to do better tomorrow.”
To reach the quarterfinals, Gunawan will need to defeat French player Christo Popov, ranked 28th in the world, who overcame Malaysia’s Cheam June Wei 21-19, 21-10.
Kenta Nishimoto (Japanese: にしもと けんた, August 30, 1994) is a famous Japanese badminton men’s singles player and an active member of the Japan national badminton team.
In September 2013, Kenta Nishimoto appeared in the Russian Badminton Grand Prix and reached the men’s singles final, ultimately finishing as runner-up to Vladimir Ivanov, 1-2 (17-21, 21-15, 14-21).
In April 2016, Kenta Nishimoto was removed from the Japanese national team after he was found to have participated in an illegal DB.
In August 2017, Kenta Nishimoto represented Japan at the World University Games badminton tournament held at the Taipei Arena in Chinese Taipei, winning silver medals in mixed team and men’s singles.
On May 5, 2018, the 35th Japan-Korea Badminton Team Exchange Tournament came to an end. On the first day of the tournament, Japan’s men’s team, Kenta Nishimoto, played as a singles player to turn back Son Wan-ho 2-1, helping the Japanese men’s team beat the Korean men’s team 4-1.
On November 18, 2018, Kenta Nishimoto finished as the runner-up in the men’s singles at the 2018 BWF World Tour Hong Kong Open.
On December 2, 2018, Gunta Nishimoto finished second in the men’s singles at the Japan National Badminton Championships.
In December 2019, he was awarded the Men’s Singles Runner-up of the All-Japan Championships.
On January 26, 2020, he was the runner-up of the men’s singles at the 2020 Badminton World Federation Super 300 Thailand Masters.
In June 2020, Kenta Nishimoto withdrew from Tonami Transportation Co. badminton club.
On October 3, 2021, he was runner-up in the 2021 Sudirman Cup World Mixed Team Badminton Championships with Japan.
On September 4, 2022, Kanta Nishimoto won his first career WBF Superseries 750-level men’s singles title, defeating Zhou Tiansheng 2-1 in the men’s singles final of the Japan Open Badminton Championships.
World Ranking – Men’s Singles 10, Week 30, 2024
Olympic Points – Men’s Singles 11, 64982 points
Finals Ranking – Men’s Singles 10, 48300 points
Equipment Used
THRUSTER RYUGA II; VBS-66 NANO; A970ACE; NANORAY Z SPEED Bright Orange; NANOFLARE 800; THRUSTER RYUGA II PRO; A970 NitroLite; NANORAY Z SPEED Yellow; SHB65Z2MEX; GR233
Major Achievements
Men’s Badminton Asia Championships 2024 Third Place
2023 Said Modi Badminton International Men’s Singles Runner-up
2023 China Shenzhen Badminton Masters Men’s Singles Runner-up
2022 Hangzhou Asian Games Badminton Men’s Team 3rd Runner-up
2023 Hong Kong Badminton Open Men’s Singles Runner-up
2023 Canadian Open Badminton Men’s Singles Quarter-finalist
2023 Sudirman Cup Mixed Team Championships Third Runner-up Member
