[Saba Sports News] When he claimed the title at the 2021 All England Open Badminton Championships, Lee Zii Jia defeated Kento Momota and Viktor Axelsen back-to-back, with his ferocious smashes striking fear into opponents across the globe. On this day in 2026, Lee Zii Jia has slipped to 60th in the world rankings. At the recent U.S. Open Badminton Championships, he suffered a lopsided defeat to Kidambi Srikanth.
In just five years, the 28-year-old Lee Zii Jia has plummeted from the pinnacle of his career to rock bottom. He is another star men’s singles shuttler following Malaysia’s legend Lee Chong Wei. Back then, Lee’s world ranking kept rising and his commercial value hit an all-time high. Taking advantage of his momentum, badminton gear brand VICTOR launched the Dragon Tooth racket. Fueled by Lee’s explosive playing style, the racket became a blockbuster product and led annual sales charts for years. The higher the peak, the harder the fall. At the end-of-year BWF World Tour Finals in 2024, Lee Zii Jia sustained a severe ankle injury. What followed was a vicious cycle of repeated withdrawals due to injury, comebacks, and further injury layoffs. When the entry cutoff for the 2026 BWF World Championships arrived, his world ranking stood at 82nd, leaving him without qualification to compete.
In contrast, his compatriots Leong Jun Hao (ranked 25th) and Hoh Justin (ranked 44th) secured their tournament berths smoothly. The former top men’s singles player of Malaysia could only watch the matches from his television at home. The once wildly popular Dragon Tooth racket has seen a sharp drop in buyers amid Lee Zii Jia’s consistent poor form, casting huge uncertainty over VICTOR’s contract renewal talks with him.
In my view, on one side lies years of sentimental partnership; on the other, a sustained slump in competitive results and product sales. Competitive sports are ultimately ruthless. Sentiment cannot pay the bills, and commercial value is always determined by on-court performance.