Lee Zii Jia will return to competitive badminton two months before his plans in order to arrest his slide in the BWF World Rankings.
He will be appearing in the BWF World Tour’s 2026 season at his home in Kuala Lumpur, which will run from January 6 to 11.
Even though Lee owned a protected world ranking from the BWF due to an injury-hit 2025 season to focus on his ranking, he has slipped to 144th in world rankings.
The former World No.2 is eyeing the top 20 rankings with a focus on LA 2028 Summer Olympic Games berth.
“My target for this year is to get back into the top 20, or even the top 15 if possible, because next year we know that Olympic qualification will almost be starting. So definitely, this is my main target,” he said in quotes reported by The Star.
“I’m not sure whether I am 100 per cent fit but my team have given the green light for me to compete in tournaments,” he added.
Lee is expected to participate in all four World Tour which will start from Malaysia, move to India, Indonesia, before closing in Thailand.