Kumamoto Masters Japan: Lee Zii Jia survives scare to secure Round 2 place
Lee Zii Jia, Victor Axelsen and Jonatan Christie were all Round 1 winners at the 2024 Kumamoto Masters Japan, being shown on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com in selected territories.
Badminton
Malaysian badminton ace Lee Zii Jia secured a hard-fought 21-16, 12-21, 21-15 victory over countryman Justin Hoh in the 2024 Kumamoto Masters Japan men's singles first round on Wednesday, 13 November.
Fifth seed Lee hadn't played on the circuit for a month since crashing out of the Arctic Open quarter-finals with an ankle injury.
But the Olympic bronze medallist wrapped up the game in under 25 minutes, seemingly showing no signs of rust in the pair's first tour encounter.
That seemed to spur rising star Hoh into life. The 20-year-old took an early lead in the second game and never relinquished it to take the match to a decider.
The third was a titanic struggle, with neither player able to string a run of points together. Eventually, Lee's greater experience and accuracy started to tell as he built a six-point buffer, before closing out the match.
The World No. 7 will face Chinese Taipei's Su Li-Yang, who beat Takahashi Koo of Japan in another epic 21-17, 19-21, 21-17.
Earlier in the day, top seed Viktor Axelsen needed under 40 minutes to dispatch Wang Tzu Wei 21-14, 21-14.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist had to come from behind in both games, but once he found his rhythm victory never looked in doubt.
Denmark's Axelsen will take on Lei Lan Xi of the People's Republic of China in Round 2, who defeated Singaporean former world champion Loh Kean Yew 21-19, 21-19.
Elsewhere, fourth seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia booked his place in Round 2 with a 21-15, 21-11 win over Japan's TanakaYushi.
Should Lee and Christie win their next matches, they will meet in the quarter-finals which will be available to watch live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app for mobile devices (territorial restrictions may apply).