KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 — Malaysia’s top men’s singles Lee Zii Jia fulfiled his prediction of getting past the first round of the BWF 2021 World Badminton Championships in Huelva, Spain, last night.
But the 2021 All-England champion, who was facing a steadfast Jason Anthony Ho-Shue from Canada, had to wait until the deciding set to confirm a place in the second round when he met with great resistance, especially in the second set.
The 23-year-old shuttler from Alor Setar, Kedah who was seeded sixth in the tournament, finally wrapped up his victory 21-10, 17-21, 21-11 to book a meeting with Brazilian player Ygor Coelho.
Accompanying Zii Jia to the second round was national professional men’s singles player Liew Daren who also sealed success in the opening round yesterday after another professional shuttler Cheam Jun Wei was stranded in Sunday’s action.
Daren, the world’s 36th ranked player, beat Misha Zilberman of Israel 21-14, 21-14 and is scheduled to meet the winner of the match between Prannoy H. S. of India and eighth seed Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the national camp clinched another victory in mixed doubles.
Hoo Pang Roon-Cheah Yee See defeated Dutch pair Ties Van Der Lecq-Debora Jille 26-24, 21-12 in a 42-minute battle.
Pang Roon-Yee See will be meeting fourth seeds, Praveen Jordan-Melati Daeva Oktavianti of Indonesia who received a bye in the first round.
— Bernama
