KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — Malaysia’s top shuttler Lee Zii Jia had to dig deep to move into the Australian Open final after coming from behind to overcome Taiwan’s Lee Chia Hao in a three-set semi-final today.
In the encounter at Quaycentre, Sydney, the 2021 All England champion, who appeared vulnerable, lost the first game 10-21 but fought back to take the second and third games 21-15, 21-10 to make the final, where he will meet Japan’s Kodai Naraoka.
The win today is the third from six meetings for Zii Jia over Chia Hao, who beat him in the 2016 Asia Junior Badminton Championships, 2023 German Open and 2023 Hong Kong Open.
As for his upcoming opponent, second-seed Naraoka, Zii Jia has a 2-1 win record against him, with his victories registered at the 2023 All England and 2024 All England championships.
Other Malaysian representatives in the Australian Open finals are women’s doubles pair Lai Pei Jing-Lim Chiew Sien, who overcame third-seeds Yeung Nga Ting-Yeung Pui Lam from Hong Kong, 21-13, 18-21, 21-14.
In the women’s doubles final, Pei Jing-Chiew Sien will meet second-seeds Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi from Indonesia.
Two other Malaysian pairs, mixed doubles duo Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, lost to top seeds Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin from China, 11-21, 11-21 while men’s doubles pair Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal lost to He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu from China, 18-21, 9-21.
— Bernama
