BANGKOK has proven to be a good hunting ground for top national men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia after he repeated his 2022 feat by ‘demolishing’ Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long in today’s (May 19) Toyota Thailand Open 2024 final.
The in his element world’s No. 10 professional shuttler only needed 34 minutes to wrap up the match in straight sets of 21-11 and 21-10.
The victory earned the seemingly back-in-form Alor-Setar-born shuttler a prize money of US$31,500 while runners-up Ng walked away with US$15,960.
Zii Jia who captained Malaysia to reach the semi-finals stage of the Chengdu 2024 Thomas Cup has come back from behind to beat Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 18-21, 21-12, 21-13 in 66 minutes yesterday (May 18) en route to his first final in 2024.
However, his world’s No. 27 opponent Ng had an even tougher match before upsetting world champion and home star Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-14, 18-21, 21-19 in a 78-minute pulsating semi-final encounter.
In the 2022 Super 500 Thailand Open, Zii Jia came back from behind to seal the title with a 17-21, 21-11 and 23-21 victory over China’s Li Shifeng.
In the women’s singles final, the tournament’s sixth seeded local star Supanida Katethong upset China’s first seeded Han Yue to clinch her second BWF World Tour title after the 2023 US Open which she won in July last year.
The 26-year-old 2023 SEA Games gold medalist won 21-16, 25-23 in 56 minutes. – May 19, 2024
Main image credit: Naomi Baker/Getty Images 2023
