Lee Zii Jia lost in his China Masters quarter-finals match in straight games 11-21, 12-21 against Kenta Nishimoto to effectively bring his 2023 season to an end, as the defeat also effectively ruled him out of the World Tour Finals (WTF).

Lee had mentioned being patient was a key factor in his second round victory over Lu Guang Zu on Thursday, but the shuttler did not seem to possess that trait against Nishimoto on Friday.

The Malaysian tried to rush his shots to end the rallies early, and committed many unforced errors which allowed his Japanese opponent to swiftly rack up the points.

In the end, Nishimoto wrapped up victory in 40-minutes to record his third victory against Lee in nine meetings.

More importantly, the Japanese will also most likely overtake Ng Tze Yong for eighth spot on the WTF ranking, which will qualify him to the season finale in Hangzhou next month.

Most of the elite Malaysian shuttlers have ended their participation on the World Tour for this year.

Some of them will feature at the WTF season finale.

Men’s doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are guaranteed to feature as the top eight pairs, while mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei will have to wait to see if they remain in eighth spot at the end of this tournament to qualify.