All-England: Zii Jia wanted to retire after first 11 points

Lee Zii Jia admitted he wanted to retire after 11 points in the first game in the aftermath of the defeat against Angus Ng Ka Long in the All-England first round.

Overall, it was a disastrous opening day for the Malaysian contingent with almost every representative exiting the tournament.

This included the other men’s singles Leong Jun Hao and three men’s doubles pairing of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi and Junaidi Arif-Yap Roy King.

For Lee, this first round defeat was his worst outing in this prestigious Super 1000 event.

The shuttler, who lost 21-19, 16-21, 12-21 to his Hong Kong opponent, said he wasn’t feeling it from the start.

“I actually wanted to retire after 11 points in the first game. I wanted to inform the umpire but I changed my mind to continue. I think it was a good thing that I even managed to win the first game in this situation.

“I’ll need to assess my injury before deciding on what’s next,” said Lee, who was not moving smoothly on court.

This was the shuttler’s first match this year after recovering from a right ankle injury suffered at the World Tour Finals last year.

Chia-Soh, meanwhile, lost 16-21, 21-16, 18-21 to Danish pair Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard.

“They were the better pair, we made a lot of unforced errors. This was the cause of the defeat,” said Chia.

Only mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai came through after posting an impressive 22-20, 9-21, 21-18 victory over Thai pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran.

Several other Malaysian pairs will be in action on Wednesday including Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah, Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong.

#AllEngland2025 : ❌R32Bekas juara 2021, 🇲🇾Lee Zii Jia tewas di tangan wakil Hong Kong 🇭🇰, Ng Ka Long Angus!🥹21-19, 16-21,12-21“I actually nak retired masa 11 point, first set itu… but….” - Lee Zii JiaKecederaan Zii Jia berulang? #LeeZiiJia #100plus @ASTROARENA pic.twitter.com/VAHKXyB89e
— ZAKI ZAINAL (@_ZakiZainal) March 11, 2025