KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia’s top singles ace Lee Zii Jia advanced to the men’s singles final of the BWF Denmark Open 2023 following a 21-15, 21-17 victory over Lee Cheuk Yiu on Saturday
Lee Zii Jia, who ended a 17-month title drought on the BWF World Tour a week ago by winning the Arctic Open 2023, will play in his second straight final.
On Sunday, he will take on Weng Hong Yang from the People’s Republic of China in an attempt to win his fifth career BWF World Tour championship.
The Malaysian struggled to find his rhythm early on, dropping the first three points of the first game. Lee Zii Jia moved three points ahead after scoring six straight points after getting on the board.
He firmly established his dominance, extending it to five points (11-6) at the half. Lee Cheuk Yiu was able to rally and close the gap to three points, but Lee Zii Jia turned the tables and won the opening game 21-15.
In the more competitive second game, Lee Cheuk Yiu made the Malaysian work for his points by staying in close proximity.
Lee Cheuk Yiu made an unforced mistake that would have tied the score, but he still managed to cut the deficit to one point (7-6).
However, he quickly made his breakthrough, tying the score at 11 points after having trailed by three points.
The tenacious Lee Zii Jia was able to take an early lead of two points, which he increased to four (21-17) to win the match and advance to his second Denmark Open championship game.
Source – Olympics.com
