Zii Jia shows his all-round strength to enter quarters in Indonesia, thanks to Wong

PETALING JAYA: Wong Tat Meng’s tireless work in turning world No. 10 Lee Zii Jia into an all-rounder has started taking shape on the court.

Zii Jia proved that he is not just a stylish performer but equally effective in attack and defence as he dismantled Hong Kong rival Angus Ng Ka Long to storm into the men’s singles quarter-finals of the Indonesian Masters in Jakarta yesterday.

Moving better and producing a steady overall game, Zii Jia defeated Angus 22-20, 21-15 in 46 minutes in the second round, his first straight-game victory over the Hong Kong shuttler in seven meetings.

Zii Jia also showed some steely nerves as he saved two points at 18-20 in the first game to turn the tide in his favour.

Matches against Angus, the world No. 20, has always been difficult for Zii Jia but he was quite satisfied by securing his third win in seven meetings in an assured manner, thanks to the inputs from Tat Meng.

Malaysian fans would not have forgotten Angus’ outburst on Tat Meng for leaving Hong Kong as the singles coach to guide Zii Jia last year.

Angus further rubbed salt on the wound by beating Zii Jia in straight games in the Korean Masters in July last year.

However, the Malaysian seems to be getting better when playing against Angus after his wins in the Hangzhou Asian Games and at the Istora Senayan yesterday.

Zii Jia was fully appreciative of the way Tat Meng has been turning him into a more quality player.

“It was a very good win today. Tat Meng has made a lot of changes in my game and has been trying to make me an all-round player since I started training under him,” said Zii Jia.

“This (all-round game) is what we have been working on and today, I would say that my attacking shots and netplay were quite satisfying.

“We have played each other many times and it has been always close fight against Angus and I’m happy to pull through.”

Zii Jia will next face giantkiller Brian Yang of Canada, who toppled Asian Games gold medallist Li Shifeng of China in the first round and overcame Priyanshu Rajawat of India 21-18, 21-14 in the second round.

Brian lost to Zii Jia in the Indian Open in straight games last week but will be looking for a revenge.

Meanwhile, Leong Jun Hao failed in his bid to make it a double celebration after losing 15-21, 17-21 to local favourite Anthony Ginting in a 53-minute second round match.

Jun Hao said: “It was so hard to play Ginting and the fans here are extraordinary. It was a tough environment here.”

“I learnt a lot playing against him though and overall, my performance here has given me the confidence to do even better,” added Jun Hao, who came through two tough qualifying matches on Tuesday and had shocked world No. 11 Kenta Nishimoto in the opener.

The performance should be a motivation for him to play well in the Asia Team Championships in Shah Alam next month.

RESULTS

(Only matches involving Malaysians)

Malaysians unless stated Second round

Men’s singles: Lee Zii Jia bt Angus Ng Ka Long (Hkg) 22-20, 21-15; Anthony Ginting (Ina) bt Leong Jun Hao 21-15, 21-17.

Men’s doubles: Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto (Ina) bt Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun 21-18, 22-20.

Women’s doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Margot Lambert-Anne Tran (Fra) 21-14, 21-10; Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien 21-15, 21-15.

Mixed doubles: Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing bt Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See 21-12, 21-16; Rehan Naufal-Lisa Ayu (Ina) bt Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei 12-21, 21-13, 21-14; Kim Won-ho-Jeong Na-eun (Kor) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie 21-10, 21-16.

First round

Men’s doubles: Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri bt Wei Chun-wei-Wu Guan-xun (Tpe) 21-16, 21-18.

Women’s doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Keng Shuliang- Zhang Chi (Chn) 21-12, 21-18.