Lee Zii Jia has jumped to fourth on the world rankings after a splendid showing at the Paris Olympics which saw him claim a first bronze medal, and the men’s singles ace could even find himself third soon.

In the latest world rankings released by the Badminton World Federation, Lee surged up two spots to fourth on 83, 716 points.

The 26-year-old is just 81 points shy of Jonatan Christie’s total world ranking points, and could overtake the Indonesian into third place depending on both shuttlers performance.

This ranking is Lee’s second personal best ranking, since he occupied second spot from Oct 2023 to January this year.

While the professional shuttler will be eyeing to chase Viktor Axelsen and Shi Yu Qi who occupy the world top two rankings, Lee will be eager to build on his momentum this year which has seen him win two titles at the Thailand and Australian Open.

He also reached the Malaysia Masters final, before claiming a coveted podium finish in Paris.

The Kedahan made his way to the Japan Open last week, but lost to eventual champion Alex Lanier in the first round.

Lee will not feature at this week’s Korea Open, which only sees Leong Jun Hao as the sole Malaysian men’s singles representative.