Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s singles suffered an early setback at the Australian Open 2026 after professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia was knocked out in the opening round in Sydney on Thursday.
The Malaysian star was unable to overcome Taiwan’s Lee Chia Hao, going down 21-13, 24-22 in the Super 500 tournament held at Quaycentre, Olympic Boulevard.
While Zii Jia’s campaign ended prematurely, fellow Malaysian Justin Hoh enjoyed a winning start after defeating India’s Kiran George 21-19, 14-21, 21-15 in a hard-fought first-round encounter that lasted 62 minutes.
The world No. 47 will next face Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen, who booked his place in the second round after dispatching Singapore’s Jason Teh 21-18, 21-11.
In the women’s singles competition, Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching was pushed to the limit before securing a dramatic 21-19, 19-21, 22-20 victory over India’s Aakarshi Kashyap in their first-ever meeting.
The gruelling contest lasted 75 minutes, with Ling Ching eventually edging through to set up a second-round clash against eighth seed Huang Yu-Hsun of Taiwan, who defeated American shuttler Disha Gupta 21-17, 21-16.
Malaysia also celebrated success in the mixed doubles event as the pairing of Jimmy Wong and Cheng Su Yin progressed to the next round with a straight-games victory over Australian duo Andika Ramadianshyah and Nozomi Shimizu, winning 21-15, 21-16.
Jimmy and Su Yin will now face Thailand’s Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat in the second round after the Thai pair defeated Australia’s Timotius Elbert and Sylvina Kurniawan 21-11, 21-17.
Despite Zii Jia’s early exit, several Malaysian representatives remain in contention as the tournament heads into its next stage.
