China Masters: Zii Jia overcomes Tze Yong in all Malaysian thriller

Lee secured the 21-15, 20-22, 17-21 victory after 75-minutes of exhilarating action in their men’s singles showdown at the Shenzhen Bay Gymnasium on Wednesday to move into the round of 16 where he will face home shuttler Lu Guang Zu.

This is Lee's third consecutive victory over Ng this year, having also beaten him at the Australian and Arctic Open.

With this Super 750 event offering final qualifying points to the WTF, Lee knew he needed a big performance to try and get into that tournament as the top eight ranked shuttlers.

Ng currently occupies that final eighth spot, but he will be replaced by either Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Kenta Nishimoto or even Lee if either shuttler goes the distance.

The Arctic Open champion can be assured of a WTF spot if he wins this event, or finishes significantly higher than Kunlavut or Nishimoto who are above him in the qualifying pecking order.

Lee progressing is one of the highlights of day two as three other doubles pairs lost their opening matches to ultimately end their 2023 season.

The highest profile loss was national women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah, whose behaviour on-court posed more questions than their defeat.

Throughout their contest against South Korean pair Jeong Na-eun-Kim Hye-jeong, Tan-Thinaah did not acknowledge each other on court and seemed to be at odds with each other.

Their non-communication was a key factor in their defeat, as both shuttlers did not seem aware of each other’s positioning to surrender crucial points.

The world number 15 pair eventually succumbed to a 11-21, 21-15, 20-22 defeat.