PETALING JAYA: Lee Zii Jia will need to sharpen up his game if he hopes to go deeper at the Hylo Open, with world championships silver medallist Kodai Naraoka standing in his way in the second round today.
Zii Jia arrived in Saarbrucken, Germany, with renewed confidence after an encouraging run to the semi-finals of the Arctic Open two weeks ago.
However, he was given another scare in the opening round yesterday when Singapore’s Jason Teh took control of the match despite the Malaysian making a strong start.
Fortunately for Zii Jia, a string of errors from Jason opened the door for him to regain the upper hand and seal a 21-16, 19-21, 21-17 win in 59 minutes.
“Great to officially be back at the Hylo Open since 2021, and even better to start it off with a W (win),” said Zii Jia on his social media page.
The Kedah-born shuttler cannot afford a similar lapse against Naraoka, who will also be eager to make amends after falling short in his previous two European tournaments.
The world No. 9 was beaten in the quarter-finals of the French Open in Paris last week by eventual champion Christo Popov, while he had lost to compatriot Yudai Okimoto in the second round of the Denmark Open in Odense a week earlier.
There is little to separate the two on paper, with their head-to-head record tied at 3-3.
Their last meeting, however, came two years ago in the Australian Open final, where Zii Jia emerged victorious.
Another win over Naraoka today would not only strengthen Zii Jia’s confidence but also provide a clearer indication of whether he is truly finding his way back to his best.
Also through to the second round were mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing, who defeated Dutch pair Joep Strooper-Sterre Bang 21-13, 21-13.
The Hylo Open is their fourth tournament in as many weeks since beginning their European campaign at the Arctic Open earlier this month, and Pang Ron-Pei Jing will be hoping to build on the momentum from their runner-up finish at the French Open last week.
Pang Ron-Pei Jing will next face either Innocenzo Santoro-Chequeda De Boulet of Italy or Taiwan’s fourth seeds Yang Po-hsuan-Hu Ling-fang.
RESULTS
(Malaysians only)
First round
Men’s singles: Lee Zii Jia bt Jason Teh (Sin) 21-16, 19-21, 21-17.
Men’s doubles: Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King bt Malik Bourakkadi-Kenneth Neumann (Ger) 21-11, 21-12; Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (Eng) bt Chia Wei Jie-Teo Ee Yi 21-14, 11-7 rtd.
Women’s doubles: Carmen Ting-Ong Xin Yee bt Abbygael Harris-Estelle Van Leeuwen (Eng) 21-12, 21-17.
Mixed doubles: Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing bt Joep Strooper-Sterre Bang (Ned) 21-13, 21-13.
