KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 7 Lee Zii Jia was made to sweat again before reaching the quarter-finals of the Kumamoto Masters in Japan today.
The independent shuttler lost 21-19 to unfancied Taiwanese Su Li Yang in the first game before bouncing back to win the next two games 21-8, 21-16 in the second round of the Super 500 tournament at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.
The 26-year-old Zii Jia seemed to be still finding his footing on his return after an ankle injury last month.
Yesterday, in the first round, Zii Jia was made to sweat by compatriot and world No. 50 Justin Hoh before recording a 21-16, 12-21, 21-17 win.
The former All-England champion will take on Denmark's Rasmus Gemke or Indonesian fourth seed Jonatan Christie in the quarter-finals tomorrow.