Roy King, Zii Jia light up BWF smash charts after Finland outing
KUALA LUMPUR: The rise of Lee Zii Jia and doubles pair Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King at the Arctic Open last week was shown by the Malaysians' prominent presence on the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) 'Supersmash Leaderboard'.
Roy King and Lee Zii Jia have been lighting up the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) Supersmash Leaderboard after their impressive performance at the Arctic Open in Finland. Roy, partnered with Aaron Tai-Yap, currently holds the top position in the men's doubles category with a smashing speed of 459.6 km/h. Aaron sits in third place with a speed of 447.3 km/h. The Malaysian duo's aggressive speed and courtcraft made them a formidable force, causing a stir at the Super 500 event in their first pairing.
Their dominance continued this week at the Denmark Open, and it is highly likely that Roy and Aaron will find their names back on the BWF Supersmash Leaderboard in the upcoming week. Meanwhile, Zii Jia, who didn't top the men's singles list in Finland, still demonstrated his prowess with four smashes that ranked in the top 10. His fastest smash was listed at No. 5 with a speed of 439.9 km/h, followed by sixth (436.3 km/h), seventh (433.9 km/h) and ninth (432.8 km/h) spots.
The Arctic Open also saw Taiwan's world No. 4, Chou Tien Chen, record the fastest smash at 468.2 km/h. The return of Zii Jia's powerful smashes, his primary weapon during his peak, is expected to lead to more explosive performances in future tournaments. In terms of records, India's men's doubles ace Satwiksairaj Rankireddy holds the world record for the fastest smash at 565 km/h, set during a special test at Yonex's Tokyo factory gymnasium in Saitama, Japan, on April 14, 2023.
In women's singles, Malaysian ace Pearly Tan holds the record at 438 km/h, also set during a special test at the same gymnasium.
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