All posts tagged: Zii

Ayush Shetty starts new season with win over recovering Olympic bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia; Up next in Rnd 2 – No 1 Shi Yuqi | Badminton News

Ayush Shetty starts new season with win over recovering Olympic bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia; Up next in Rnd 2 – No 1 Shi Yuqi | Badminton News

Published by Webster

Lee Zii Jia, that dreaded name that cost Lakshya Sen and Olympic medal at Paris Games, is on one of his downturns, having sunk to World No 144. An injury back in September had kept him away, but the season’s first big event at home, would’ve been too hard to resist to launch a proper comeback after partial recovery. Trailing 12-21, 10-10 against Indian Ayush Shetty, Zii Jia even threatened an encore of the Olympic script where after looking down and out against Sen, he had roared back to claim the bronze. But a wisened Shetty kept his adrenaline in check just in time, to record a 21-12, 21-17 win over the Malaysian maverick. Zii Jia, once a formidable aggressor with an attack to note, was known to come into the year’s first Super 1000 with fitness a little off-key. But his ability to flip a match is well known. He can bide his time, stay patient and wait for the opponent to err – in case of the Indian get over-eager – and pounce …

China Masters Super 750: Lakshya Sen defeats Lee Zii Jia for first win since Paris, says Olympics miss ‘still hurts’ | Badminton News

China Masters Super 750: Lakshya Sen defeats Lee Zii Jia for first win since Paris, says Olympics miss ‘still hurts’ | Badminton News

Published by Webster

Since leading by a game – and then some – against Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, things haven’t gone Lakshya Sen’s way. He lost five matches in a row from there, including the two heartbreaks in Paris. On Wednesday in Shenzhen at the China Masters Super 750, he finally won another match on the tour. And it was Lakshya’s heartbreaker Lee Zii Jia in front, as the Indian prevailed 21-14, 13-21, 21-13 in an entertaining 57-minute clash. In a match that swung one way then the other, Lakshya started superbly in an opening game where he pulled off some miraculous escape acts during rallies. Lee dominated the second game to easily force the decider, but in Game 3, Lakshya kept pulling away from 5-5 to end a string of early exits on tour. “Feels good to win a match after a really long time,” Lakshya said after the match. “Things have been a little bit up and down post the Olympics. I’m still trying to get back to my …

Lakshya Sen Outlasts Lee Zii Jia To Enter Semifinals At All England Championship

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India’s Lakshya Sen displayed great mental resolve on his way to a stunning win over former champion Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia to progress to the men’s singles semifinals of the All England Championships in Birmingham. The 22-year-old Indian, who had finished runner-up in 2022 edition, produced good variations while attacking and kept fighting to outlast Lee 20-22, 21-16, 21-19 in a absorbing quarterfinal that lasted 71 minutes on Friday. “It was a really good match and happy to be on winning side. It was all about keeping the nerve. I knew he has the quality to comeback and give a tough fight,” Sen said. “Even when I was 18-14 up, I knew if I play a little bit lose, he will grab the opportunity. For me, it was important to dictate the pace. In the end, it was about not giving him an open chance to hit and keep the shuttle down.” World no. 18 Sen, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, will take on Indonesia’s world no. 9 Jonatan Christie in the semifinals. Sen played …

All England Badminton Quarter-Final Highlights: Lakshya Sen defeats Lee Zii Jia in three games to enter semis | Badminton News

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All England Open Badminton Quarter-Final Highlights: Lakshya Sen defeated Lee Zii Jia in three games after pushing his All England quarter-final against the Malaysian into a decider. After losing the first game 20-22, he won the second game 21-16 and claimed the third game 21-19 to wrap up the 71-minut encounter. The Malaysian had claimed the first game 22-20 after 23 minutes of fast-paced badminton. The Indian had held leads in the mid-game intervals of both games against Malaysia’s Lee. Lakshya was a finalist at the prestigious All England championships last year while Lee has won the title once in the past. Lakshya was trailing 2-8 against World No 4 Anders Antonsen in the deciding third game in Birmingham on Thursday, before overcoming the fourth seed from Denmark 20-22, 21-13, 21-11 in a 78-minute thriller. The 21-year-old Lakshya won men’s singles gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham but has since been searching for form after nasal surgery disrupted his progress at the end of 2022. The other Indians in the fray on Thursday all …

India Open Super 750: In the shadow of former great Lee Chong Wei, Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia learns how to deal with the pressure | Badminton News

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It is not easy being Lee Zii Jia. The Malaysian shuttler is a headline-maker back home. Everything he says is newsworthy, every match he plays is an event, any loss he suffers is a stick to beat him with while his wins are a source of great joy for his legion of fans. The former world No.2 is coming into the Olympic year after struggling in 2023. He finished strongly enough but there was a phase in the middle of the year, where he had four straight first-round exits. He also missed out on an Asian Games medal at the cost of HS Prannoy making history for India. But the 25-year-old came up with an impressive performance in New Delhi on Thursday against world No.5 Jonatan Christie to enter the quarterfinals at the India Open Super 750. Dominating the Indonesian star for the most part, Lee put together a performance that sent out a reminder of why he remains a top competitor on tour. “Last year I had a tough start, and now I am …