Vantaa: The climax of the Arctic Badminton Super 500 event showcased an all-Malaysian duel. Lee Zii Jia emerged as the victor, outplaying Ng Tze Yong in consecutive sets, clinching the BWF World Tour Championship title for the first time this season!
Highlights of Lee Zii Jia vs. Ng Tze Yong in Arctic Open final:
During this stellar face-off, world-ranked 14th, Lee Zii Jia, dominated with his powerful smashes, ultimately besting Ng Tze Yong, ranked 19th, with scores of 21-14, 21-15, marking yet another milestone in their international competitions.
The duo’s previous international face-off was at the 2023 Australian Badminton Open. Lee Zii Jia narrowly edged out Ng Tze Yong with scores of 17-21, 26-24, 21-19.
This marks a historic occasion: the first time two Malaysian men’s singles competitors have vied for the title in a World Tour Super 300 or above. The achievement was so significant that the Badminton World Federation specially highlighted it, dubbing the feat as “distinctive.”
Post the semi-finals, an exhilarated Lee Zii Jia remarked on the event’s significance: “This moment is monumental. It’s been years since we’ve seen this, especially at such a high-level tournament. Both Tze Yong and I have showcased our mettle in this tournament. Here’s to a spirited final.”
For Ng Tze Yong, this was his debut appearance in a World Tour final. On the other hand, Lee Zii Jia snapped his year-long hiatus since the Denmark Open final the previous year. He expressed his journey’s sentiment, stating, “After facing numerous challenges this year, I’ve finally reached my season’s inaugural final.”
This Arctic Open win marked Lee Zii Jia’s first BWF World Tour victory in 2023, elevating his total career BWF World Tour titles to four after winning the 2018 Taipei Super 300, the 2021 All England Super 1000, and the 2022 Thailand Super 500.
The triumphant Lee Zii Jia was awarded a prize of US$31,500, equivalent to approximately RM150,000, and 9,200 world ranking points.
In other news, Malaysia’s duo, Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun, faced a loss of 18-21, 17-21 to Denmark’s Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the men’s doubles final.
Highlights of Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun vs. Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in Arctic Open final:
Man/Tee had actually defeated the Danish pair in the first round of the Malaysia Masters in May this year. But this time, luck was not on the Malaysians’ side.
The badminton powerhouse China became the biggest winner by winning three titles on Sunday, including women’s singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
In the mixed doubles final, top seed Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping defeated No. 4 seed teammates Jiang Zhenbang /Wei Yaxin in straight games 21-14, 21-15. They have maintained a record of 5 games against the latter this year. This was Feng/Huang’s 6th BWF World Tour title in 2023.
The women’s singles saw Chinese women’s singles Han Yue defeated teammate Wang Zhiyi 16-21, 22-20, 21-12 in the final to win her first title this year the first Super 500 championship in her career.
China’s 19-year-old Liu Shengshu and 20-year-old Tan Ning defeated Thailand’s No. 2 seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai 21-13, 24-22 in the women’s doubles final, winning China’s third crown.
