Rejuvenated Zii Jia brings his A game to New Zealand Open.

Zii Jia shows his class to cruise into second round

PETALING JAYA: Buoyed by his Sudirman Cup selection, a rejuvenated Lee Zii Jia (pic) cruised into the second round of the New Zealand Open.

The 21-year-old singles shuttler, who is ranked 21st in the world, returned to his giant-killing ways with a classy 21-18, 21-12 victory over Japan’s world No. 10 Kenta Nishimoto at the Finda Stadium in Auckland yesterday.

He could not have asked for a better start as he begins his Olympic qualifying campaign.

“It’s a great win as he’s a top 10 player and is always a very tough opponent whenever we meet,” said Zii Jia, who holds a 2-1 advantage over the Japanese.

“I just kept calm, tried not to think too much and let my game come out, and it worked.

“It’s definitely a great start for the Olympic qualifications but I have to remain focus and hope everything will get better from here.”

With the absence of Lee Chong Wei, Zii Jia has been given the huge task of carrying the national team’s challenge in the singles at the Sudirman Cup from May 19-26 in Nanning, China.

The national No. 1 will lead the charge with Soon Joo Ven and Cheam June Wei.

Zii Jia’s next opponent will be against another Japanese in world No. 38 Kazumasa Sakai who defeated China’s world No. 40 Zhou Zeqi yesterday.

Independent player Chong Wei Feng also worked his way into the second round while Soong Joo Ven fell in the first hurdle.

In the men’s doubles, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi served up another upset when they took out sixth seeded Taiwanese pair Liao Minchun-Su Ching-heng with a convincing 21-16, 21-13 win.

It was their third consecutive win over the world No. 11 pair.

They will now take on Indonesia’s Akbar Bintang Cahyono-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani.

Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh V ShemTan Wee Kiong also moved into the second round while Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani failed to get past their opening round.