KUALA LUMPUR: National professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia’s hard work in the final of the 2024 Australian Open today was well-rewarded when he beat Kodai Naraoka of Japan to clinch the singles title.
Zii Jia spent 78 minutes to emerge triumphant at Quaycentre, Sydney Olympic Park, beating the world number six player 21-19, 11-21, 21-18 .
The Australian Open is his second title this year after winning the Thailand Open in May.
Zii Jia has now won three out of six of their meetings, winning previously at the 2023 and 2024 All England, but losing to Naraoka at the 2023 Malaysian Open, the 2023 China Open and the 2024 Indian Open.
Meanwhile, the national women’s scratch doubles pair, Lai Pei Jing-Lim Chiew Sien made the most of their pairing, emerging as runners-up after losing to Indonesians Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Amallia Cahaya 21-12, 7-21, 13-21 in the final.
