Lee Zii Jia continued his encouraging return to form with a morale-boosting victory at the Thailand Masters, defeating Belgium’s Julien Carraggi in straight games to advance to the second round on Wednesday at Bangkok’s Nimibutr Stadium.
The Malaysian shuttler, ranked world No. 79, delivered a composed performance to overcome world No. 53 Carraggi 21-19, 21-11 in just 29 minutes, marking his fourth consecutive tournament since returning from a back injury that sidelined him for much of last year.
Despite the convincing scoreline, Zii Jia was made to work hard early on. Carraggi, a Paris 2024 Olympian, came out firing and raced to a 10-4 lead in the opening game, putting the former world No. 2 under pressure and raising the prospect of a rare defeat to a player outside the world’s top 50. The Belgian had previously stretched Zii Jia to three games at the 2023 Denmark Open and once again proved a tricky opponent.
However, Lee Zii Jia fought back from 17-12 down to draw level at 19-19 before sealing the opening game. That turnaround proved decisive, as the Malaysian carried his momentum into the second game, where he asserted control and pulled away comfortably.
The win will further boost Zii Jia’s confidence as he continues his career-revival bid. Last week, he snapped a 10-month winless run by defeating India’s H.S. Prannoy in the first round of the Indonesia Masters before bowing out in the second round. Earlier this season, he suffered early exits at the Malaysia Open and India Open.
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Lee Zii Jia will next face either Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen or India’s Mithun Manjunath for a place in the last 16.
Meanwhile, Malaysia also enjoyed success in the men’s doubles, with young pair Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing advancing after a hard-fought all-Malaysian clash. They rallied past Mohd Faiq Masnawi and Lok Hok Quan 12-21, 21-18, 21-15 and will meet China’s Hu Keyuan and Lin Xiangyi in the second round.
