BANGKOK: Malaysia’s men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia continued to build momentum on the World Tour after advancing to the second round of the 2026 Thailand Masters on Tuesday.
Competing in his fourth consecutive tournament, Lee required just 29 minutes to overcome Belgium’s Julien Carraggi 21-19, 21-11 in the opening round, extending his head-to-head record against the Belgian to two wins.
The victory marks Lee’s second straight appearance in the round of 16, following his run at last week’s Indonesia Masters.
Watch highlights from the match below:
Lee will next face India’s Mithun Manjunath, who caused an upset by eliminating eighth seed Magnus Johannesen of Denmark in three games.
Meanwhile, fellow Malaysian Justin Hoh finally secured his first win of the 2026 season, ending a run of early exits with a solid first-round performance in Bangkok.
The sixth seed defeated Taiwan’s Su Li Yang 21-17, 21-19 to reach the round of 16, marking his first second-round appearance after opening-round losses at both the India Open and Indonesia Masters.
The win also extended Justin Hoh’s perfect record against Su to four victories from four meetings.
Justin will next take on China’s Zhu Xuan Chen, who advanced after straight-games wins over India’s Manraj Singh.
In mixed doubles, Malaysia’s Jimmy Wong–Lai Pei Jing showcased resilience to book their place in the second round after a hard-fought comeback victory.
Despite being heavy favourites, the world number 25 pair were pushed to three games by South Korea’s Lee Jong Min–Lee Yu Lim before prevailing 14-21, 24-22, 21-15 in a 59-minute battle.
The result marked Wong–Lai’s second round-of-16 appearance this season after four consecutive weeks on the World Tour. They had previously reached the second round at the India Open but suffered early exits at the Malaysia Open and Indonesia Masters.
Next up, the Malaysian pair will face Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh–Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn for a place in the quarter-finals.
With several Malaysian shuttlers advancing in Bangkok, the 2026 Thailand Masters continues to provide valuable match momentum as the season progresses.
