Lee Zii Jia comfortable in opening win at Indonesia Open
MALAYSIA'S top men's shuttler Lee Zii Jia opened his Indonesia Open campaign with a straightforward victory over Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin on Tuesday (14 June).
The reigning Asian champion was rarely troubled by his world No.32 opponent, as he wrapped up the round-of-32 tie 21-15, 21-14 in 41 minutes at the Istoran Senayan Stadium in Jakarta.
Lee, who is ranked fifth in the world, improves his head-to-head record against Sitthikom to 4-0, with his three previous wins over the Thai coming before February 2019.
The 24-year-old will next face either France's Thomas Rouxel or India's Sameer Verma in the round of 16 on Thursday. Should he advance further, he could face Singapore's world champion Loh Kean Yew in the quarter-finals, and Denmark's world No.1 Viktor Axelsen in the semi-finals.
The Indonesia Open is one of three annual tournaments to be granted Super 1000 level on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour circuit, and boasts a total prize purse of US$1.2 million (RM5.3 million).
Malaysia's mixed doubles pair of Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai also advanced into the last-16, scoring an upset 21-18, 7-21, 22-20 win over top-seed Thai pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taeratanchai in 69 minutes.
