2026-07-05,KUALA LUMPUR

Independent shuttler Lee Zii Jia remains encouraged by his progress despite missing out on the Canada Open final after a semi-final defeat on Sunday.

The world No. 60 went down 21-13, 18-21, 21-18 to Japan's world No. 74 Riki Takei in the last four of the Super 300 event.

It was Zii Jia's first World Tour semi-final since winning the Australia Open title in June 2024.

Zii Jia looked on course for a place in the final after opening a 17-13 lead in the deciding game, but Takei staged a strong comeback to reach his first Super 300 final.

Although Zii Jia had beaten Takei at the Australian Open last month, the Malaysian's defeat was likely influenced by former world No. 1 Kento Momota.

Takei said that he has been training under the two-time world champion for the past two years.

"I have been training under Momota for two years now and thank him for my current progress," Takei said to Badminton_Images on Instagram.

Despite the defeat, Zii Jia said he was satisfied with his performance and described his quarter-final victory over Taiwan's world No. 45 Wang Po Wei as his best since returning from a lengthy injury layoff in January.

"It was one of my best performances since coming back from injury. I have been struggling a lot and trying to find my confidence," said Zii Jia.

"Although I'm not winning against top 10 players, I consider this (Canada Open) a good start for me to climb up the world rankings again."

Zii Jia will look to build on his Canada Open showing at the Taiwan Open from July 28-Aug 2, where he will begin in the qualifying round, before competing in the Korea Masters from Aug 4-9, where he has earned a place in the main draw.