KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia is the favourite to win the Thailand Open title today, but the 26-year-old reckons his opponent in the final, Hong Kong's Angus Ng, is back to his best.
According to Zii Jia, Angus, who upset the lDenmark's Anders Antonsen and last year's champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand en route to the final will be a tough nut to crack.
This is despite his consecutive wins over Angus in the last two encounters.
Speaking to the Badminton World Federation, Zii Jia, who won the Thailand Open in 2022, said: "I didn't think too much about it. Yes, I beat him twice in our last two encounters but in this tournament, he's has been playing really well.
"He has upset the top seed (Antonsen) and last year's champion Kunlavut, so for me, he's on his best form again.
"I'm expecting a very tough match."
On paper, world No. 27 Angus has a slightly better head-to-head (4-3) record against the Malaysian ace.
However, given his current form and confidence level, Zii Jia is expected to win his first title of the year in his maiden final appearance this season.