Birmingham: Malaysia’s world no. 10, Lee Zii Jia, advanced to the second round of the All England Open on Wednesday.
Lee caused an upset by defeating Japan’s world no. 6 Kodai Naraoka in straight sets with a score of 21-12, 21-19 in a 49-minute match.
Highlights of Lee Zii Jia vs. Kodai Naraoka in the 2024 All England first round:
“I focused more on my attacking shots today,” said Lee in an interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). “Every time I face Kodai, we need to be prepared as the match will undoubtedly be intense. He is a good defensive player. Nonetheless, I am pleased with my performance today.”
This marked Lee’s second victory over Naraoka in their five meetings, with Lee’s previous win against Naraoka occurring in last year’s All-England quarter-finals. The triumph sets up a meeting between Lee Zii Jia and Loh Kean Yew in the second round after the Singaporean defeated Ng Ka Long Angus from Hong Kong 21-12, 21-17.
In the previous edition, Lee Zii Jia ended his All-England campaign in the semi-finals after losing to China’s Shi Yu Qi with scores of 19-21, 13-21.
Prior to this, Lee Zii Jia demonstrated positive performances by reaching the quarter-finals of the India Open and the Indonesia Masters.
In the mixed doubles category, Malaysia’s world no. 9 Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei followed in Lee Zii Jia’s footsteps by advancing to the second round of the All England Open. They defeated the 2021 world champions – Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-14, 12-21, 21-15 in 57 minutes.
It was Chen/Toh’s second victory over Puavaranukroh/Taerattanachai in seven meetings.
Chen/Toh will play Robin Tabeling/Selena Piek of Netherlands next.
In men’s doubles, China’s world no. 13 He Ji Ting/Ren Xianyu pulled off an upset to down reigning world champions Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae of Korea 21-14, 21-13, and will take on Rasmus Kjær/Frederik Søgaard of Denmark in the second round.
