Lee Zii Jia will face K.Srikanth in the second round of the Orleans Masters after the men’s singles shuttler battled back from a game down to beat Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu-jen 17-21, 21-17, 21-17.
The turning point for the Malaysian came in the deciding game when he overcame a four point deficit from 8-12 to 14-12 to turn the game on its head.
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Lee powered through to win the hard fought match for his first victory of 2025.
Other matches saw Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah beat their Chinese Taipei opponent in straight games to setup a second round clash against South Koreans Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo.
Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee are the other pair through for a match against an Indonesian pair.
In the mixed doubles, top seeds Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also came through easily and will next face Indonesians Rehan Naufal-Gloria Widjaja.
Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin are also in action against a Chinese Taipei opponent.
The biggest upset of the day came through the exit of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who lost 18-21, 8-21 against unfancied Chinese pair Sun Wen Jun-Zhu Yi Jun.
The tame defeat could be an indication that Chia’s wrist injury has not healed, raising concerns of the pair’s participation at next week’s All-England.
