KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia has advanced to the semi-finals of the 2022 Indonesia Open after defeating Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in a dramatic quarter-final match, today.
World number five Zii Jia was forced to work hard in the hour-long match at the Istora Senayan Stadium before sealing the 21-18, 16-21, 22-20 victory over Kean Yew who is ranked ninth in the world.
The 2021 All-England champion will next face the winner of the quarter-final match between Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and world number one Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
“Thank you to everyone who gave their support, I will give my best tomorrow.
“I had to fight (in this match). It is intense every time I meet him (Kean Yew), coupled with the fact that I feel he played well in this tournament, I felt that he had started to regain his confidence and play stably,“ he said after the game.
Also advancing to the semi-finals were the country’s top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik after overcoming Indonesia’s unseeded duo Pramudya Kusumawardana-Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan 14-21, 21-12, 22-20.
Lucked seemed to be on the side of the world’s number seven pairing when Yeremia Erich sprained his leg in the third set while the Indonesians were leading 20-18 in the third set.
The situation forced Pramudya to double his efforts as his injured partner played on despite limping on the court, and Aaron-Wooi Yik used the opportunity to collect four straight points to win the match.
The tournament’s fifth seeds will play either Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia or Liu Yu Cheng-Ou Xuan Yi from China in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s challenge in the mixed doubles competition came to an end after both national pairs Hoo Pang Ron-Toh Ee Wei and Chen Tang Jie-Valeree Siow were stranded in the quarterfinals.
Pang Ron-Ee Wei lost 16-21, 19-21 to South Korean pair Seo Seung Jae-Chae Yu Jung while Tang Jie-Valeree were defeated by fourth seeds Wang Yi Lyu-Huang Dong Ping of China 12-21, 14-21. — Bernama
