Malaysia’s top-ranked shuttler Lee Zii Jia finally put an end to his five-match losing streak to Indonesia’s Asian Games gold medal winner Jonatan Christie with a smashing straight game 21-15, 21-13 win in a first-round match in the 110th All-England Championships in Birmingham on Wednesday.
The Kedahan carved out his win in 41 minutes the reigning SEA Games champion will next face
Lu Guangzu of China who beat Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand 21-16, 21-9 in 37 minutes for a place in the quarter-finals.
Zii Jia will remember the Arena Birmingham for his splendid win over Christie and it is certainly a big boost to his confidence for the Tokyo Olympics in July-August.
The All-England is the world’s oldest badminton tournament and the most prestigious. It is the first World Tour Super 1000 event and it counts towards qualification for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. RIZAL ABDULLAH
