KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will face China in the final of the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) later today without top singles player Lee Zii Jia.
The former All England champion, who also skipped the quarter-final against Singapore on Friday because of a sinus problem, will be replaced by Leong Jun Hao.
Jun Hao, the former Asian junior champion, will take on Weng Hong Yang in the first match.
According to BAM, Zii Jia faced breathing difficulties after his semi-final match against Japan's Kenta Nishimoto on Saturday.
"After yesterday's match, Zii Jia had breathing difficulties due to his sinus and was not able to recover for today's match. Get well soon," read the social media statement.
Former men's doubles world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will meet Xie Hao Nan-Zeng Wei Han in the first doubles match, and Eogene Ewe will meet Lei Lan Xi in the second singles match.
Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani will feature in the second doubles while men's doubles player, Haikal Nazri, has been named as the third singles player.
Should the tie go down to the wire, Haikal will face Wang Zheng Xing.
This will be Malaysia's third final appearance in a row at the BATC since the 2020 edition in Manila.
Two years ago, Malaysia defeated Indonesia 3-0 to clinch their maiden crown.