Zii Jia beats Tze Yong to reach China Masters second round

PETALING JAYA: Professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia defeated fellow Malaysian Ng Tze Yong to make it into the second round of the China Masters.

World No. 11 Zii Jia had to dig deep before overcoming world No. 15 Tze Yong 21-15, 20-22, 21-17 in a thrilling opening round match at the Shenzhen Bay Gymnasium on Wednesday (Nov 22).

Zii Jia will next face world No. 16 homester Lu Guangzu in the second round on Thursday (Nov 23).

Meanwhile, women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and mixed doubles combinations Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Tan Kian Mei-Lai Pei Jing all crashed out of the competition.

World No. 12 Pearly-Thinaah fought hard but agonisingly lost 11-21, 21-15, 20-22 to South Korea’s world No. 11 Jeong Na-eun-Kim Hye-jeong.

Soon Huat-Shevon went down 17-21, 20-22 to Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet, while Kian Meng-Pei Jing fell 16-21, 21-23 to Singapore’s Terry Hee-Jessica Tan.