PARIS: Malaysian professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia easily cleared his Paris 2024 Olympics group stage to advance to the knockout phase as expected at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena today.
The 2021 All England champion beat Spain’s world number 62 Pablo Abian, 21-10, 21-13 after 34 minutes in the Group G match to advance to the round of 16.
Throughout the match, Zii Jia faced little trouble from the 39-year-old Spaniard, who is competing in his fifth Olympics since the Beijing 2008 edition.
Zii Jia, the world number seven, began his campaign with a 21-14, 21-12 win against world number 70 Viren Nettasinghe of Sri Lanka on Sunday.
However, Zii Jia’s real challenge is set to begin in the round of 16, as he will likely face Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia, barring any upsets in the Group H fixtures later.
In his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, Zii Jia was defeated by China’s Chen Long in the round of 16.
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