Zii Jia clears opening hurdle in Arctic Open

PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia returned to winning ways by beating Frenchman Christo Popov to reach the second round of the Arctic Open.

World No. 4 Zii Jia, who captured the title last year, stayed steady throughout the match to come away with a 21-15, 21-11 win over world No. 27 Popov in 43 minutes at the Energia Arena in Vantaa, Finland on Wednesday (Oct 9).

It was the 26-year-old’s first win in a match since capturing bronze in the Paris Olympics in August.

Zii Jia is out to regain his best form after struggling physically and suffering first-round defeats in the Japan and China Open.

The independent player will face either China’s Lei Lanxi or Japan’s Yushi Tanaka in the second round on Thursday (Oct 10).

Meanwhile, world No. 29 Leong Jun Hao suffered an early exit after going down 19-21, 9-21 to Hong Kong’s world No. 16 Lee Cheuk Yiu.

It was Jun Hao’s second consecutive defeat to Cheuk Yiu after he also lost to the latter in the second round of the Hong Kong Open last month.