Ubed Stuns Eighth Seed Lee to Reach Australia Open Quarterfinals

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia’s men’s singles shuttler Mohammad Zaki “Ubed” Ubaidillah produced one of his sharpest performances of the season, toppling eighth seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in straight games to secure a quarterfinal berth at the Australia Open 2026 in Sydney on Thursday, June 11.

The 21-year-old sealed the victory 21-19, 21-15 at Quaycentre, Olympic Boulevard, showing composure in key moments and resilience drawn from earlier setbacks.

“Alhamdulillah, today the game went well, I was given the win and no injuries. In the first game I was still hesitant, not yet safe and able to control the match,” Ubed said afterward in a statement released by the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), as quoted by Antara.

The opening game was a tense battle. Ubed initially struggled to dictate the tempo and trailed under Lee’s pressure. After the interval, however, he found rhythm and rallied back, though the points remained tight.

Leading 20-17, Ubed briefly faltered with two consecutive errors that allowed Lee to close the gap, but he tightened his focus to clinch the game 21-19. “The key was strengthening my focus. At 20-17 I lost two points because I slipped on the tempo, but I reminded myself not to let concentration drop,” he explained.

In the second game, Ubed looked more assured. His steadier play kept Lee on the defensive, and he closed out the match 21-15. Reflecting on the win, Ubed credited lessons learned from his earlier disappointment at the Malaysia Masters.

“I learned from that failure, so today I tried to rebuild my desire to win against seeded players,” he said.

Looking ahead, Ubed emphasized recovery and evaluation with his coach before the quarterfinal clash. “Hopefully tomorrow I can break into the semifinals of this Super 500. I don’t know the opponent yet, but I’ll stay focused, think positively, recover, and discuss today’s match with the coach,” he noted.

Ubed will next face the winner of the match between Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen and Malaysia’s Justin Hoh. ***