PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles player Lee Zi Jia has suffered a heart attack after being forced to retire due to an injury in his Group A World Tour final against China’s Li Shifeng.
World No. 8 Zi Jia has secured a place in the last four after defeating Taiwan’s Chu Tien-chen and Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in their previous group matches.
The free agent won the first game 22-20 and led the Tigers 13-5 in the second, en route to his third straight win, but suffered a fall in Hangzhou on Friday, December 13, injuring his right ankle.
Zi Jia tried to continue playing after receiving treatment, but was forced to throw in the towel.
The 26-year-old had a disappointing end to his last competition under coach Wong Tat Meng.
Meanwhile, for the independent men’s doubles pair, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izuzuddin Rumsani had better luck after they secured their place in the semi-finals with a 24-22, 21-12 win over Taiwan’s two-time Olympic champion Lee Yang-Wang Chi-Li. In group A.
It was She Fei-Izudin’s second win after defeating the Taiwanese pair of Li Jie-Hui-Yang Po-Hsu a day earlier.