KUALA LUMPUR – Lee Zii Jia cruised into the quarter-finals of the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) in Ningbo, China today.
Facing the threat of Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei in the second round, the world number 11 swatted aside the challenge of the cancer survivor in straight sets at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre.
Tien-chen, who revealed that he had undergone surgery for colorectal cancer to the BWF recently, succumbed to a 21-15, 21-17 defeat in 39 minutes.
The world number 15, who was diagnosed with cancer in April of last year, only revealed his condition after winning the Thailand Masters in February.
Meanwhile, Zii Jia, who won the BAC in 2022, will next face the winner of the match between Lee Cheuk-yiu of Hong Kong and tournament third-seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia later.
Earlier, tournament eighth-seed Zii Jia said he was hoping to regain his confidence by doing well in Ningbo.
He said winning in Manila two years ago was a game changer, helping him succeed in subsequent tournaments that year. – April 11, 2024