KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia is fit and ready to secure his spot in the season-ending World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou from Dec 11-15.
While Zii Jia's long-term ambition is to contend for gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, qualifying for the WTF could boost his confidence and set the tone for future success.
It has been a challenging season for the world No. 7 due to injuries, yet he has worked tirelessly to make Malaysia proud.
In August, Zii Jia clinched a bronze medal in the men's singles at the Paris Olympics, but soon after, minor injuries forced him to withdraw from the Korea Open, Hong Kong Open, and recently, the Denmark Open.
However, the independent shuttler is determined to compete in the season's remaining two tournaments – the Kumamoto Masters in Japan (Nov 12-17) and the China Masters (Nov 19-24) – in a bid to book his place in the prestigious WTF.
Zii Jia is currently fifth in the World Tour standings.
Only the top eight players qualify for the WTF, which offers a prize pool of US$2.5 million (RM10.85 million).
The men's singles champion will walk away with US$200,000 (RM868,000).
Zii Jia, fresh from receiving RM100,000 from the National Incentive Scheme (Shakam) for his Olympic bronze, is feeling confident and motivated.
"Thank you to Shakam for this incentive. I'll give my all to make it to LA 2028," said Zii Jia on Friday.
"Right now, my focus is on qualifying for the WTF.
"There are only two more tournaments left, Kumamoto and China Masters, and I'll do my best there.
"As long as I feel fit to compete, I'll be there. My focus is to confirm my WTF spot."
With 69,900 points, Zii Jia is in a strong position to secure his WTF spot, but the competition is close. Rivals in the sixth to ninth positions – Lin Chun Yi (68,500), Koki Watanabe (67,530), Kenta Nishimoto (65,780), Lu Guang Zu (65,640) and reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn (64,750) – are close behind.
A quarter-final finish at the Kumamoto and China Masters should guarantee Zii Jia's ticket to the WTF.