Zii Jia made to struggle in Australian Open

Zii Jia made to struggle in Australian Open

The men’s singles ace takes 64 minutes to overcome India's S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian in the first round.

Lee Zii Jia (left) will face compatriot Soong Joo Ven in the second round of the Australian Open badminton championship in Sydney.
KUALA LUMPUR:
Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia started his campaign at the 2024 Australian Open badminton championship on a positive note by eliminating India’s S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian today.

However, the 26-year-old had to struggle to secure his spot in the second round, taking 64 minutes to defeat Sankar 21-16, 18-21, 21-10 at Sydney Olympic Park.

Zii Jia is scheduled to meet compatriot Soong Joo Ven, who overcame Canadian challenger Victor Lai 21-16, 21-16 in another first round match today.

National women’s singles player K Letshanaa also advanced to the second round after an easy victory over Australian Ira Sameer Acharya 21-6, 21-5.

Letshanaa will face Taiwan’s Pai Yu Po in the second round. The Taiwanese defeated India’s Imad Farooqui Samiya 23-21, 13-21, 24-22 earlier.

Mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing also secured a spot in the second round after brushing aside Australians Ephraim Stephen Sam-Dania Nugroho 21-13, 21-13.

The tournament’s fifth seeds are scheduled to face a tough challenge against top seeds Jiang Zheng Bang-Wei Ya Xin from China in the second round.

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