Lee Zii Jia and Alex Lanier Advance At Arctic Open

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Lee Zii Jia enters the Arctic Open second round. (Photo: AFP)
Lee Zii Jia enters the Arctic Open second round. (Photo: AFP)

Vantaa: Two Malaysian men’s singles players experienced different fates today at the Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland, as Lee Zii Jia advanced to the second round, while Leong Jun Hao was knocked out in the first.

Defending his title from last year, Lee Zii Jia had no trouble overcoming French player Christo Popov. The world number four dominated both sets, securing a 21-15, 21-11 victory in just 43 minutes at the Vantaan Energia Arena.

Highlights of Lee Zii Jia vs. Christo Popov in the 2024 Arctic Open first round:

This marks Lee Zii Jia’s second consecutive win over Popov, having also defeated him at the 2022 German Open.

“Zii Jia has advanced to the last 16 of the Arctic Open. It’s a good start,” Team LZJ (Lee Zii Jia) posted on their social media account on platform X after the match.

The 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medalist will face Japan’s Yushi Tanaka on Thursday for a spot in the quarterfinals, after Tanaka defeated China’s Lei Lan Xi 21-17, 27-29, 21-16.

Meanwhile, Leong Jun Hao faced an early exit after losing to Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu. Although Leong Jun Hao put up a strong fight in the first set, he narrowly lost 19-21. He couldn’t recover in the second set, falling 9-21 and allowing Lee Cheuk Yiu to advance to the next round.

This is Leong’s second consecutive loss to Lee Cheuk Yiu, following his defeat in the second round of the Hong Kong Open last month.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old French rising star Alex Lanier pulled off a stunning upset in the first round, defeating top-seeded Danish player Anders Antonsen in three games to advance to the last 16.

In August, Lanier made headlines by defeating Lee Zii Jia and Shi Yuqi on his way to the finals of the Japan Open, where he ultimately claimed the title after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen. However, he suffered a first-round exit at the Korea Open soon after and has since taken a break until now.

Facing Antonsen, Lanier lost the first game 18-21 but made adjustments and rallied back to win the next two games 21-18, 21-18, securing the upset after a grueling 1 hour and 21 minutes match.

Lanier will face Irish-Vietnamese player Nhat Nguyen in the round of 16, after Nguyen came back from a game down to defeat Japan’s Takuma Obayashi 14-21, 21-10, 21-12.

In men’s doubles, Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalists Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik showed no signs of rust as they progressed through the first round.

Facing the world No. 21 duo Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi of China, Chia/Soh had some resistance but secured a 21-18 victory in the first set.

A similar situation occurred in the second set, with both pairs exchanging points before the Malaysians clinched another 21-18 win in a match that lasted 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, reigning China Open champions Nur Izzuddin and Goh Sze Fei bounced back from a first-set loss to defeat Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer and Frederik Sogaard.

Izzuddin/Goh had a slow start, losing the first set 11-21 before coming back to win the second set 23-21 in a thrilling contest.

The third set saw Izzuddin and Goh play a more organized game, securing a 21-15 win and booking their place in the next round after a 61-minute match.

Izzuddin and Sze Fei will face Japan’s Keny Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura in the second round.

Earlier, another Malaysian men’s doubles pair, Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun, also had to dig deep before advancing to the second round by defeating Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnado and Bagas Maulana.

After losing the first set, Wei Chong and Kai Wun fought back to secure a 17-21, 21-18, 21-12 victory.

They will face Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle in the second round.

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