Tze Yong reaches second round of Japan Open, Zii Jia crashes out

PETALING JAYA: National men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong has made it to the second round of the Japan Open but it was another early exit for independent player Lee Zii Jia.

World No. 21 Tze Yong stunned Singapore’s 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew 21-16, 21-17 in the first round at the Yoyogi Gymnasium in Tokyo on Wednesday (July 26).

It was sweet revenge for Tze Yong after he had lost to world No. 7 Kean Yew in the quarter-finals of the Korean Open last week.

The youngster will face either Japan’s Kento Momota or Koki Watanabe next for a place in the last eight.

Meanwhile, Zii Jia, who has dropped to No. 18 in the latest world rankings, went down 22-20, 17-21, 19-21 to defending champion Kenta Nishimoto.

It was the 25-year-old’s sixth consecutive early round defeat in individual tournaments.