PETALING JAYA: Singles shuttlers Lee Zii Jia and Ng Tze Yong are set to clash in the first round of the China Masters from Nov 21-16 in Shenzhen.
Zii Jia and Tze Yong, who are currently Malaysia’s No. 1 and No. 2 men’s singles players, will face each other for the third time in international competitions.
World No. 11 Zii Jia does hold the upper hand over world No. 15 Tze Yong in the head-to-head records, having beaten the latter in both their previous encounters.
The duo last met in the final of the Arctic Open last month where Zii Jia won 21-14, 21-15 to get his hands on his first title of the year.
Zii Jia, though, had a much tougher time in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in August where he came from behind to edge Tze Yong 17-21, 26-24, 21-19 in a pulsating encounter.
The winner of the match this time will take on either Indonesia’s French Open champion Jonatan Christie or homester Lu Guangzu in the second round.
The tournament will offer the last chance for Zii Jia and Tze Yong to fight for a spot in the prestigious season-ending World Tour Finals.
Only the top eight players in the World Tour rankings can make the cut for the Tour Finals, which will be held from Dec 13-17 in Hangzhou.
Tze Yong is currently occupying the eighth spot in the World Tour rankings while Zii Jia is 11th.
The former, though, is still not assured of a place in the Tour Finals as Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who is currently ninth, has automatically qualified after capturing the world title in August.
Tze Yong needs to overtake Denmark’s reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, who is currently in seventh place, to have a chance to qualify.
Before the China tourney, both Tze Yong and Zii Jia will compete in the Japan Masters from Nov 14-19.
