PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia’s chances of competing again this year is looking bleak.

Zii Jia, who has been troubled by a back injury since September, has pulled out of the Australian Open next week in Sydney.

The independent player captured the title last year after beating Japan’s Kodai Naraoka but has been forced to give up on defending his crown.

Zii Jia’s name was under the “withdrawn” list for the tournament in the Badmin­­ton World Federa­tion (BWF) website.

His withdrawal means that he only has one more tournament left this year which is the Syed Modi India International from Nov 25-30 in Lucknow.

Zii Jia’s fitness struggles though makes him a doubt for the tourney.

Overall, it has been a tough year for the 27-year-old, who first sustained an ankle injury in the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou last December.

Zii Jia made his competitive return in March where he played in the back-to-back Orleans Masters and All-England.

The Kedahan though aggravated his injury in the All-England and had to take another break to recover.

Zii Jia then made a comeback in the World Cham­pion­ships in Paris at the end of August but looked rusty as he went down to South Korea’s Jeon Hyeok-jin in the first round.