KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s men’s singles hopeful Lee Zii Jia is sporting his optimistic hat as he eyes a positive outcome at the Indonesia Masters this week, securing his second consecutive quarter-final appearance of the season.
In today’s second-round showdown, the 10th-ranked Zii Jia triumphed over Angus Ng Ka Long, marking his third victory over the Hong Kong player in seven encounters.
Angus, mentored by former Malaysia coach Wong Choong Hann, could not thwart Zii Jia’s determined march forward.
“We are old opponents and have had the same coaches.
“I have worked with Choong Hann before this, and my coach now, Wong Tat Meng, used to coach Ka Long.
“No matter who the coach is, the players are all very familiar,” Zii Jia told BWF in a post-match interview.
Reflecting on last week’s India Open, where he reached the quarter-finals only to be halted by Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, Zii Jia acknowledged the challenges.
However, armed with confidence in his attacking strategy, he navigated a tough match against the 20th-ranked Angus at Istora Senayan Indoor Stadium in Jakarta today.
“Today, whoever controlled the front court and net play was going to win the match, and I managed to do that.
“This is my second quarter-final this year, and hopefully I can go further,” said the 25-year-old shuttler.
Looking ahead to the quarter-final clash tomorrow, Zii Jia is set to face the winner of the match between India’s Priyanshu Rajawat and Canada’s Brian Yang.
Yang, who caused a major upset by defeating the tournament’s second seed, Li Shifeng of China, has already caught Zii Jia’s attention.
“I have not played Rajawat before, but I defeated Brian Yang at the India Open last week.
“Of course, he played a good match, beating the Asian Games champion (Shifeng). I have to prepare myself for whoever wins the game,” added the former All England winner. – January 25, 2024