Lee Zii Jia cleared his first-round match for the second consecutive week to reach the Thailand Masters second round after staging a first game revival against his opponent.
Lee beat Belgium’s Julian Julien Carragi 21-19, 21-11 in a 29-minute contest to secure his spot in the second round, after the Malaysian dug deep to win the first game.
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Trailing for large parts, Lee was 17-19 behind in the opening game as his European opponent looked set to win.
But the 27-year-old turned the game in his favour to secure the final four points and secure the game, which left Carragi clearly deflated.
Lee looked more relaxed in the second game and even produced a stunning no-look return, coupled with his powerful smashes from baseline to secure victory.
The Kedah-born has slipped to 79 on the world rankings due to his lengthy layoff last year, and has earmarked 2026 as a comeback year.
On the back of this performance, he is still far from his best, but there are encouraging signs that he could yet return to his old-self.
The shuttler will next face a Danish or Indian opponent in the second round.
