BWF India Open: Lee Zii Jia and Jonatan Christie Secure Impressive Opening Victories

Rebounding from their early exits last week, both Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia and Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie secured victories in their opening matches at the BWF India Open on Wednesday (17 January). Lee spent 46 minutes on the court to overcome Canada’s Brian Yang 21-17, 21-19. Despite trailing 17-13 in the first game, Lee managed to stage a comeback, securing the last eight points consecutively. The second game also saw a resilient performance from Yang, with Lee needing four match points for the win. 

On the other hand, Christie had a more straightforward victory, defeating Angus Ng from Hong Kong China 21-13, 21-7. With these wins, Lee and Christie, the fifth seed, are set to face each other in the second round. In the women’s category, top seed An Se-young and third seed Yamaguchi Akane also advanced to the last 16 in New Delhi. An had a three-game battle against Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, winning 16-21, 21-13, 21-16. Meanwhile, Yamaguchi secured a victory over Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt with a score of 26-24, 21-13.