KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s men’s single’s player, Lee Zii Jia, showed resilience as he beat Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the first round of the Badminton World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark today.
Zii Jia defeated Christie in two sets, 21-13, 21-15.
This was Zii Jia’s fourth victory out of the last five meetings against the Indonesian, with his last win coming at last year’s Denmark Open.
Christie took an early 5-2 lead in the first set, but Zii Jia fought back to win six straight points and take an 8-5 lead. From there, Zii Jia took control of the first set and won it 21-13.
In the second set, Christie again took an early 6-2 lead before the world number 13 scored four straight points to tie the set at 6-6. However, Zii Jia managed to seal the set and earn the win with a score of 21-15.
After the match, the former All-England champion said that this win was a confidence booster for him, which was long needed, citing recent events swirling around the player.
“I just kept on going and told myself that no matter how many points Jonatan is leading, I will keep going,” he said.
Zii Jia also said that he is working through the ups and downs that he has been going through as of late.
“It’s a process, and I know it’s easy to say but tough when you are going through it.
“It takes time, and I don’t know how long it will take, but so far I’m taking one step at a time and being persistent. I think this is the way to success,” said Zii Jia.
At the same time, Zii Jia added that he understands the expectations of the fans who want him to win the world title after the success of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik last year.
“No singles player has won the world title. We have our first world champions, but it came from the doubles players.
“I know that Malaysian supporters are looking for the first singles champion.
“I want it so much, but I need to calm down and take one match at a time,” said Zii Jia.
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles, Goh Jin Wei was made to work hard before winning her match against Hungary’s Vivien Sandorhazi. She won 21-18, 21-15 in straight sets.
In the other women’s singles match, former national team shuttler S.Kisona was defeated by Pai Yu Po from Taiwan 22-20, 19-21, 13-21. – August 21, 2023