Malaysia’s top men’s singles badminton player, Lee Zii Jia, has officially resigned from the country’s national team.

The 23-year-old, who is ranked seventh in the world, has opted to continue his career as an independent player as he gears up for his first appearance of the 2022 season.

Lee, who has been with the national team since he was 13-years-old, clinched the prestigious All England Open title last March and was even considered an medal favourite on his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 in 2021.

Many in the country hoped that he would surpass the accolades of three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei, but the youngster shared with the Badminton Association of Malaysia that he was unable to cope with the pressure thrust upon him as the nation’s top shuttler.

Lee’s fitness levels were questioned after he retired from a couple of tournaments and suffered early exits in others.

The Malaysian is not the first to quit the national team. Senior men’s doubles and mixed doubles pairs have opted down the independent route over the last few years, but Lee’s exit is seen as the most high profile departure from the national squad, particularly given that there is no other player of his caliber representing Malaysia.

He will now await the decision of the Badminton Association of Malaysia to determine if he will face sanctions for a contractually “premature” exit from the team.