Lee Zii Jia returned to the court on Wednesday on a positive note while Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah survived an early scare at the 2025 Orleans Masters on Wednesday.
In his first competitive appearance since December 2024, Zii Jia came from behind to defeat Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu-Jen 17-21, 21-17, 21-17 while the World No. 6 had to dug deep to clinch a 25-23, 21-7 victory over Taiwan’s Nicole Gonzales Chan-Lin Chih Chun at the Palais des Sports in France.
In another match, 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew suffered an early exit in 36 minutes against India’s Ayush Shetty.
Loh started the first game on a positive note but failed to find the grip in the second to lose 17-21, 9-21. He will hope for a better result in next week’s All England Open in Birmingham.
Meanwhile, Malaysia men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun crashed out in the first round after a 18-21, 8-21 loss to Sun, Wen Jun in under 30 minutes.