Lee Zii Jia wins the Australian Open, beating Kodai Naraoka

KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s professional men’s singles player, Lee Zii Jia got an injection of enthusiasm ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics when he won the Australian Open, just now.

Daily News reports, Zii Jia managed to defeat the sixth ranked Japanese Kodai Naraoka 21-19, 11-21, 21-18 to win his second title of the season after winning the Thailand Open in mid-May.

In the action that took place at the Quaycentre, Sydney, both players showed intense action but Zii Jia managed to overcome the opponent to win the first set with 21-19.

Shocked by the victory, Naraoka showed a different style by dominating the second set before winning 21-11 to drag the match to the deciding set.

At the beginning of the deciding set, Zii Jia seemed to lose a bit of focus when trailing 0-5, but the 26-year-old player came back to equalize and continue to lead the match before finalizing the victory with a 21-18 result.

The victory was Zii Jia’s second in a row over Naraoka in six meetings and the winning record between the two players is now back to 3-3.

Along with the title, Zii Jia took home a cash prize of US$31,500 (RM148,069) while Naraoka earned US$15,960 (RM75,022) as runner-up in the Super 500 tournament.

The Paris Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from July 27 to August 5 at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena with Zii Jia among the prospects of the country’s first gold medal hunt at the world’s biggest games.