Marching onwards: Lee Zii Jia beat Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie 21-15, 21-13 to reach the Indian Open men’s singles quarter-finals at the K.D. Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia showed that he did not dwell on his miserable start in the Malaysian Open for long.
Yesterday, the 24-year-old was back in business when he outplayed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 21-15, 21-13 to reach the Indian Open men’s singles quarter-finals at the K.D. Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
The superb win marked Zii Jia’s fifth straight victory over world No. 5 Jonatan.
Meeting for the ninth time, it wasn’t a walk in the park for 10th seed Zii Jia as Jonatan did put up a strong fight in the match that went on for 46 minutes.
Despite a much improved display, Zii Jia remained calm and collected.
‘’He (Jonatan) is a really good player, but as I always say, there is a loser and a winner,” said Zii Jia.
‘’It’s nice to win for the fifth straight time ... I just followed all that my coach had taught me and maintained my focus on the court.”
After bowing out early in the opening round of the recently concluded home Open, Zii Jia has his head held high as he chases after consistency.
‘’I hate to lose, but going through many losses has also been a good thing for me because the lessons I’ve learned are valuable,” he said.
‘’Last year I suffered many first-round exits, but this year I am trying to stabilise my performance. The target is to be consistent moving forward.”
Zii Jia crashed out of last year’s Indian Open in the second round after losing to China’s Li Shifeng.
‘’It was a tough start for me last year, but now I’m in the quarter-finals. It’s a new year and new season, I will use this start to keep going,’’ he said.
In the other men’s singles fixtures, Malaysian Open runners-up Shi Yuqi of China will take on Japan’s Koki Watanabe in the quarter-finals after he secured a 25-23, 21-6 victory over Danish shuttler Rasmus Gemke.
Watanabe made it through the second round after sending Shifeng home with a 21-14, 13-21, 21-9 triumph over the Chinese player. Taiwan’s Lee Cheuk-yiu, meanwhile, overpowered reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, closing out the match 16-21, 22-20, 23-21.
