KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian badminton legend Lee Chong Wei will not be returning for the Malaysian Open in April, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Norza Zakaria confirmed on Tuesday.

In confirming Lee's opting out of the tournament, Norza told Xinhua in a message: "Yes, he will not participate."

This comes after BAM said Lee had been advised to withdraw following his routine check-up abroad.

Lee has been given a clean bill of health and his recovery process is progressing well, BAM said in a statement.

"However, in order not to put his body under undue stress, (Lee) Chong Wei has been advised to withdraw from the upcoming Malaysia Open 2019," the statement said.

"We also urged everyone to give him the space and time required for his recovery," it said.

Lee was scheduled to face Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth in the first round of the upcoming Malaysian Open.

The former world No. 1 holds the record of having won the Malaysian Open 12 times including beating current world No. 1 and Kento Momota of Japan in the finals last year before his illness.

The 36-year-old Lee, who had recovered from nose cancer, has started on court training in January, after an absence of several months and his return to the sport has been highly anticipated. Enditem

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