KUALA LUMPUR: Men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia has suffered a major setback after missing out on a place at the prestigious All England, scheduled from March 3-8 in Birmingham.
The Badminton World Federation's (BWF) latest entry list confirmed that Zii Jia sits 16th on the reserves list, effectively ruling him out of the Super 1000 tournament.
It will be the first time he fails to feature at the event since making his debut in 2020.
The exclusion comes despite the 27-year-old having only recently returned to competition at the Malaysia Open following an injury-plagued 2025 campaign.
Zii Jia famously lifted the All England title in 2021, producing a stunning upset over Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the final to claim his biggest career triumph.
However, ankle and back injuries disrupted his progress last year, limiting him to just five tournaments and causing him to fall outside the world's top 100.
Although the independent shuttler was granted a protected ranking of world No. 9, allowing him entry into the World Tour Super 1000 home Open and the Super 750 Indian Open - that status expires before the All England.
Currently ranked No. 103, the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist now faces the task of climbing back into the top 32 if he hopes to regain access to elite-level tournaments.
Zii Jia will continue his comeback at the Super 300 Thailand Masters in Bangkok next week, followed by the German Open from Feb 24-March 1.
