Malaysia’s badminton star Lee Zi Jia has advanced to the second round of the BWF Arctic Open 2023after defeating Mads Christophersen of Denmark 21-15, 21-16 on Wednesday (11 October), live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.
Lee, who last week suffered a narrow loss in the 2023 Asian Games quarter-finals, was dominant in the opening game against Chistophersen, who earned his place in the men’s singles first round through the qualifying tournament.
Eventuallly, Lee lost his rhythm a bit in the second, and the Dane faught back to equal the score to 10-10. However, the Malaysian got the momentum back after the mid-game interval and confidently smashed home the victory on his second match point in just 31 minutes.
World number 14 Lee will next face either local Finish hero Kalle Koljonen or Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia.
Earlier in the day, 2023 men’s singles world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn retired during the third game in the first round clash with France’s Christo Popovand the Thai is now out of the competition.
Elsewhere, in women’s singles, first seeded Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei ousted her opponent Catlyn Kruus of Estonia 21-7, 21-11. Thailand’s Supanida Katething awaits Tai in round two.
The BWF Arctic Open 2023 concludes on Sunday 15 October, with daily coverage live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app (territorial restrictions apply).
2023-10-11 11:33:00
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