Zii Jia defeats All-England champion Shifeng to reach second round of Swiss Open

PETALING JAYA: Independent men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia reached the second round of the Swiss Open after claiming a superb win over China's newly-crowned All-England champion Li Shifeng in Basel on Wednesday (March 22).

World No. 4 Zii Jia showed great determination and fighting spirit to come from behind and beat world No. 11 Shifeng 18-21, 21-18, 23-21 in a thrilling first round match that lasted 72 minutes.

The victory was sweet revenge for Zii Jia, who had lost to Shifeng in the second round of the Indian Open in January.

Zii Jia will next face Ireland's world No. 34 Nhat Nguyen for a place in the quarter-final.

Nguyen had stunned Indonesia's world No. 28 Shesar Hiren 21-19, 21-17 in his opening match.