Lee Zii Jia and Leong Jun Hao cleared their first round hurdles at the Thailand Open on Wednesday after both men overcame their respective opponents in contrasting fashion in Bangkok.
Another notable victory coming from the Malaysian contingent were Yap Roy King-Junaidi Arif, with the Spain Masters runners-up beating Yang Po-han-Lu Ching-Yao 16-21, 21-13, 21-16.
In the men’s singles, Lee got the start he wanted against a shuttler he has now beaten for a second consecutive time.
The sixth seed needed 50-minutes before he won 21-17, 23-21 to set-up a meeting against South Korea’s Jeon Hyeok-jin.
Leong, meanwhile, was made to sweat before he conjured up a hard-fought 21-14, 15-21, 21-17 success against Chinese Taipei’s Sun Li-yang.
He will go on to face Thailand’s world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn next.
Other results saw Yap win two matches on the same day when he teamed up with Valeree Siow to beat their Hong Kong opponents 21-19, 21-17.
The national pair, however, have their work cut out for them when they face top seeded home pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerratanachai in the next round.
Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri also won in straight games and face a Thai pair next.
Choong was also on double duty in the mixed doubles, where he teamed up with Go Pei Kee to beat their Thai opponents in straight games to face Indonesia’s Rehan Naufal-Lisa Ayu on Thursday.
