Lee Zii Jia Breaks 17-Month Dry Title Spell With Arctic Open Win
Lee Zii Jia defeated Malaysian player Ng Tze Yong in the final.
Malaysian shuttler Lee Zii Jia won the the Arctic Open yesterday, 15 October, ending his 17-month title drought
Lee, currently the world number 14 player, defeated national player Ng Tze Yong in the singles final in Finland with the score of 21-14, 21-15 in 39 minutes, reported New Straits Times.
The last time the independent player won a title was in May last year when he clinched the Thailand Open. It was marked a back-to-back victory, which he achieved along with winning the Asian Championships in the same month.
With his latest win, Lee currently has four World Tour titles to his name, which includes the 2018 Taiwan Open and the 2021 All England Open.
Image via Asyraf Hamzah/New Straits Times
Lee won a prize money of USD31,500 (RM149,000) with his victory at the Arctic Open, while Ng won USD15,530 (RM75,530) for placing second
The showdown between Lee and Ng was the first all-Malaysian final in a World Tour-level event in seven years, reported FMT.
The last time it happened was when Lee Chong Wei and Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin went head to head at the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold in 2016.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Lee contributed his victory to his patience
"The key to my win today was to stay patient. As I said before, different day, different conditions, and I'm quite happy I adapted well and won.
"Tze Yong and I used to be teammates when we were with the national team. We've been training for many years and seeing him developing into a top player, it's really pleasing.
"I believe it's something to be proud of now that we have two men's singles in the top 20. Let's hope we keep this good run going," New Straits Times quoted the 25-year-old player as saying.
It has been a bumpy road for Lee in the past few months:
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