PETALING JAYA: Independent men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia shrugged off fatigue to get through two tough qualifying matches and secure a place in the main draw of the Australian Open on Tuesday (June 9).
Competing at the Quaycentre in Sydney, Zii Jia got off to a positive start by edging Japan's Shogo Ogawa 24-22, 22-20 in a closely fought contest.
Despite having less than two hours to recover, the former Asian champion produced another impressive display to beat Japan's Riki Takei 15-21, 21-17, 21-16 in 61 minutes and book his spot in the first round.
Earlier, Eogene Ewe also secured his place in the main draw after successfully navigating the qualifying rounds.
Eogene fought back from a game down to defeat American Mark Alcala 18-21, 21-13, 21-11 before easing past India's Manraj Singh 21-11, 21-18.
It was disappointment, however, for fellow Malaysian Lim Ming Hong, whose hopes of reaching the main draw came to an end.
Ming Hong started strongly with a 21-10, 21-19 win over American Garret Tan but was unable to maintain the momentum, falling 9-21, 16-21 to India's Saneeth Dayanand in the next round.
Eogene faces a daunting first-round assignment against eighth seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong, while Zii Jia will take on Taiwan's Lee Chia-hao.
