Lee Zii Jia reaches Arctic Open second round in straight sets

Lee Zii Jia advanced to the second round of the Arctic Open Badminton Championships after beating China’s Dong Tian Yao 21-18, 21-14 at the Energia Areena on Wednesday, 7 October.

The Malaysian independent men’s singles player completed the win in straight sets and will next face Taiwan’s Su Li Yang. Two men’s doubles pairs also progressed.

Men’s doubles pairs progress

National pair Aaron Tai and Yap Roy King won an all-Malaysian men’s doubles contest against Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong. Aaron and Roy King took the match 21-12, 21-13 to move on to their next opponents from Taiwan.

Professional pair Chia Weijie and Teo Ee Yi also won in straight sets, defeating Lithuania’s Danielius Berzanskis and Domas Paksys 21-12, 21-12. Their result added another pairing to the list of players advancing at the tournament.

The two doubles victories came against different opposition: Aaron and Roy King faced compatriots, while Chia and Teo met a Lithuanian combination. Both pairs now await Taiwanese opponents who also came through their matches without dropping a game.

Taiwanese opponents await

Lee’s next opponent, Su, reached the second round by beating fellow Taiwanese player Lin Chun Yi 21-17, 21-6. That sets up Lee’s next men’s singles match after his straight-sets victory over Dong.

Aaron and Roy King will face Taiwan’s seventh seeds, Lee Fang Chih and Lee Fang Jen. The seeded pair booked their place with a 21-8, 21-10 win over Italy’s Alessandro Gozzini and Luca Zhou.

Chia and Teo, meanwhile, will play Taiwan’s Lai Po Yu and Tsai Fu Cheng. Lai and Tsai defeated Danish pair Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen 21-15, 21-17 to advance.

The results leave Lee and both doubles pairs with confirmed next opponents, all from Taiwan.