Lee Zii Jia seeks first title in 29 months at Lucknow tournament
Singapore’s Jason Teh is the highest-ranked entrant at the Syed Modi International, with the world’s top 30 players absent.
Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia will pursue an end to his 29-month wait for a title at the Syed Modi International in Lucknow on November 24-29. The world No 43 enters the Super 300 event without any of the world’s top 30 players in the field.
Singapore’s Jason Teh, ranked No 33, heads the entries by ranking. India’s HS Prannoy, the world No 39, and France’s Arnaud Merkle, ranked No 44, are among the other leading contenders.
Lee’s most recent title came in June 2024 at the Australian Open, a Super 500 tournament in Sydney. He subsequently took bronze at the Paris Olympics, but injuries and personal issues have disrupted his career since.
His recent results include a semi-final appearance at the Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland. Lee defeated France’s world No 1 Christo Popov in the quarter-finals of that Super 500 event.
A high fever affected Lee at the Hylo Open a week later. He nevertheless beat Teh in his opening match, bringing their head-to-head record to 1-1, before Japan’s Kodai Naraoka eliminated him in the last 16.
Lee later withdrew from the November 3-8 Korea Open and fell to Japan’s Minoru Koga in Kumamoto Masters qualifying. A title in Lucknow would lift him into the top 40 and secure entry to the expanded Malaysia Open on January 21-31, when 48 players will qualify for the Super 1000 event.
