JAKARTA: National men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia(pix) succeeded in advancing into the second round at the 2022 Indonesia Open after beating Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin here today.
Zii Jia, who is the sixth seed in the tournament took 41 minutes to dispose of the unseeded Thai, 21-15, 21-14 at Istora Senayan Stadium.
The Malaysian, ranked sixth in the world who would be facing either France’s Thomas Rouxel or Sameer Verma of India in the second round was however still not satisfied with the quality of play on the first day of the championship today.
“I am not 100 per cent happy, need to reduce unforced errors and keep up my focus,” he said when met by Bernama after the match.
The 2022 Badminton Asia Champion has not forgotten his defeat at the hands of host champion, Sinisuka Ginting 21-18, 16-21, 15-21, in the quarter-finals of Indonesia Masters last Friday, hoped to redeem his failure this time.
“Considering it is a ‘back to back’ tournament, I think many players are also tired. I think it is now on mental strength and focus on who is more resilient in the championship,” he said.-Bernama