Zii Jia beats Chinese shuttler in Arctic Open 1st round
The world No 56 player defeats the much younger 40th ranked Dong Tian Yao in straight games.
KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia's passion for the men's singles shuttling sport was evident as he advanced to the quarter-finals in Finland on Wednesday. Ranking 56th globally, Zii Jia dominated China's Dong Tian Yao 21-18, 21-14 in just 42 minutes at Vantaa Energia Areena. The former All England champion clinched the Arctic Open title in 2023 and reached the last eight the following year.
Due to injury last year, Zii Jia abstained from competing in the Super 500 event but bounced back by defeating Finland's Kalle Koljonen in the qualifiers on Tuesday. Subsequently, he defeated Tian Yao to secure a spot in the last 16. This impressive run follows his less-than-stellar performance at the Vietnam Open last month, where he lost to Taiwan's Wu Zhe Ying in the second round.
Zii Jia will face world No. 39 Su Li Yang, also from Taiwan, in a crucial match on Thursday. Li Yang had previously aided Malaysian Zii Jia by eliminating world No. 12 Lin Chun Yi (21-17, 21-6), who clinched the All England title this year, in the first round. Zii Jia holds a favorable 2-0 head-to-head record against Li Yang.
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Also reported by 2 other outlets
- Zii Jia beats Chinese shuttler in Arctic Open 1st round freemalaysiatoday.com
- Zii Jia rediscovers his mojo at Arctic Open nst.com.my
