KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia's perseverance finally paid off when he snapped a 10-month winless run to reach the second round of the Indonesia Masters on Wednesday.
The Paris Olympic bronze medallist defeated India's H.S. Prannoy 21-19, 21-11 to end a miserable six-tournament drought dating back to the Orleans Masters in March last year.
Zii Jia's career was derailed by a series of injuries that sidelined him for much of last season.
He took an indefinite break after a first-round exit at the All England before applying for ranking protection.
The former world No. 2 returned at the World Championships in August but suffered another opening-round loss, and was again unable to clear the first hurdle at the Hong Kong Open and China Masters in September.
Zii Jia then stepped away once more before resuming his campaign in 2026, where he endured first-round exits at the Malaysia Open and India Open.
