Lee Zii Jia came through an epic against Naraoka Kodai in the final of the BWF Australian Open 2024 in Sydney on Sunday (16 June) to clinch his second title of the season.
The third seed from Malaysia needed an hour and 18 minutes to come out on top, winning 21-19, 11-21, 21-18, having won last month’s Thailand Open.
Lee trailed 3-2 in the head-to-head going into this encounter although he had won their last meeting at March’s All England Open. And long, gruelling rallies were the order of the day in the first game with Naraoka showing good defence to retrieve Lee’s powerful smashes.
The Malaysian badminton star won four consecutive points from 15-14 to take control of the opener, but Naraoka saved four game points as both players – clearly tired from their exertions – avoided attempting aggressive shots. Lee eventually secured it 21-19 in 29 minutes.
Despite being best known for his defensive prowess, Naraoka was unafraid to attack in the second game. Lee made a number of errors as the Japanese led 11-6 at the mid-game interval which he converted into a convincing 21-11 margin.
Back to the ends from which Lee took the first game, Naraoka was moving his opponent around the court at will as he raced into a 5-0 lead. Lee recovered his focus and fought back to go 8-7 in front, but it was Naraoka who led 11-10 at the changeover.
Then came a spectacular passage of play from Lee as he controlled the tempo and won the next six points without reply. Naraoka took a medical timeout but Lee won the point after play resumed to go 17-11 in front. There was one last twist as the second seed took seven of the next eight points to draw level, but Lee won a superb next rally to go back in front. And two missed overheads from Naraoka saw Lee secure multiple titles in a calendar year for the first time in his career.