IPOH, Sept 11 ― Kedah lost its gold medal hopes in badminton when gold medal prospect in the men's singles event Lee Zii Jia was forced to withdraw from the 19th Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Perak due to a back injury.

Kedah badminton squad head coach Ari Anshori said Lee who sustained the injury after taking part in the recent 2018 Asian Games had been advised by the National Sports Institute and the Badminton Association of Malaysia to rest for at least two weeks.

"Lee is forced to pull out of SUKMA to prevent his condition from worsening,” he told reporters.

The Indonesian-born coach said with the withdrawal of the top seed, shuttlers from the women's and mixed doubles events would shoulder the squad's hopes of winning medals in the competition.

The Kedah badminton squad's best achievement in SUKMA was in the 2010 edition in Melaka when they bagged one gold medal in the men's team event and two silver medals in the men's singles and the mixed doubles. ― Bernama