Lee Zii Jia’s rollercoaster year continued into the KAPAL API GROUP Indonesia Open 2023 with his second straight first round loss, and then the Malaysian dropped a bombshell by announcing a temporary break from badminton.

The world No.11, semifinalist at the All England and the Swiss Open, looked forlorn as he crashed out to Lakshya Sen, who is himself rebounding from a series of below-par performances due to ill-health. Lee’s body language fell in the second game as he went down 21-17 21-13 in 33 minutes.

Lee said he’d been contemplating a temporary break until he rediscovered his passion for the game.

“Lakshya played very well today,” said a downcast Lee. “I think for now I will probably temporarily quit badminton. I don’t know how long I will take, but I will quit badminton for a while, until I get motivation again. I will take a break and get rest for a while.”

Lee’s uncertainty was apparent when he said he wasn’t thinking of qualification for Paris 2024 just yet.

“Maybe I will stop playing tournaments — I don’t know for how long. I have been considering this for quite long. It’s too much for me on court, I can’t concentrate 100 per cent. It will be good for me to take a break. The priority for me is to find my passion on court. I did well at the Sudirman Cup, but I haven’t done much different after that.”