Lee Zii Jia returned to form after his performance at the Thomas Cup, delivering consistent results. He has made a steady comeback after a long period of setbacks and injuries.

After injuries affected his performance in the 2025 season, Zii Jia spent a lot of time away from the badminton circuit. And his prolonged break led to a drop in his ranking and his exposure. However, he made a strong comeback at the Thomas Cup 2026, resulting in his ranking jumping 15 spots.

The player has now successfully climbed from World No. 82 to No. 67 with his recent performances. He is ready and qualified for the upcoming Thailand Open, a BWF World Tour Super 500 event set to take place in Bangkok. It is a great opportunity for Zii Jia to improve his ranking even further.

Zii Jia was once one of the most prominent players on the circuit, known for his powerful rallies. He is a former world No. 2, the 2021 All England Open champion, and the gold medallist at the 2022 BAC.

Lee Zii Jia’s performance at the 2026 Thomas Cup

At the 2026 Thomas Cup, Zii Jia represented Malaysia in Group B, with all ties held in Horsens between 24 April and early May 2026.

Malaysia was drawn alongside Japan, England, and Finland and finished as the group runners-up before losing in the quarter-finals.

Zii Jia won all three of his group-stage matches. His opening match was against England’s Nadeem Dalvi. He defeated him 21–13, 21–11 in 35 minutes in straight games.

He followed that with another straight-games win against Finland’s Ananda Galvani Daniswara, winning 21–19, 21–10 in 35 minutes.

Finally, in the last group tie against Japan on 29 April, he defeated Koki Watanabe 21–13, 21–19 in a 41-minute match.

Despite his straight-game win, Malaysia lost the tie to Japan 3–2 and finished second in Group B, advancing to the knockout stage. However, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 3–0 defeat to China.

Read more at Ace Badminton Community!

Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Sahil Prashar