Taipei: After winning an 80-minute hard-fought battle against No. 1 seed Chou Tien Chen in the semi-finals, the unseeded Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia continued to push the boundaries for stamina and resilience as he fought back from dropping the second set to beat 29-year-old Riichi Takeshita of Japan 21-17, 16-21, 21-11 for the Chinese Taipei Open title on Sunday.
The Chinese Taipei was Lee’s second title at the senior level. He won the 2017 Polish Open last September by defeating compatriot Soong Joo Ven 21-17, 21-16.
With the victory, Lee Zii Jia who just recovered from lower back injury recently, also proved himself as a player with massive potential as he outlasted No. 4 seed Hsu Jen Hao and No. 1 seed Chou Tien Chen en route to the Chinese Taipei Open final.
Lee’s playing style showed some similarities with Chen Long of China, where both have strong defense and would often produce some sneak attacks that caught their opponents off guard. He would need to strengthen his attacks in order to rise to the next level.
In women’s singles final between No. 1 seed Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan and No. 3 seed Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark was tougher than expected as the World No. 1 Tai needed 3-set to cap off the Sunday with a 17-21, 21-10, 21-13 victory against the Dane in 47 minutes.
The triumph was also Tai’s seventh title of the season and her third title at home (Tai won the Chinese Taipei Open title in 2012 and 2016).
In an all-Taiwanese men’s doubles final, top seeds Chen Hung Ling/Wang Chi-Lin stormed past third seeds Liao Min Chun/Su Ching Heng 22-20, 21-9 for the title.
Meanwhile, Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida won an all-Japanese women’s doubles final against Ayane Kurihara/Naru Shinoya 21-10, 21-17 while Indonesia’s eighth seeds Alfian Eko Prasetya/Marsheilla Gischa Islami claimed the mixed doubles crown.
