Badminton News: Lee Zii Jia’s path from badminton to the final looked easy with a series of draws and upsets that occurred in the first and second rounds of the 2022 Thailand Open.
Yesterday, Lee Zii Jia advanced to the singles quarter-finals after an easy 21-7, 21-11 victory over German qualifier Kai Schaefer on a day when top seeds Viktor Axelsen and Kidambi Srikanth withdrew from the competition at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.
Axelsen, who excelled in his 21-19 and 21-13 wins over South Korea’s Heo Kwang-hee on matchday one, had to slip past Japan’s Kodai Naroaka due to a second-round injury.
The reason for the exit of eighth seed Srikanth is unknown but the Indians, who beat Frenchman Brice Leverdez 18-21, 21-10 and 21-16 in the first round on Wednesday, could be exhausted after winning all matches of the incredible Thomas Cup triumph in India. Last week.
Previously, second seed Kento Momota and fourth seed Chou Tien-chen were also eliminated in the first round of Thailand Open 2022.
In fact, world number 6 Lee Zii Jia is the only remaining seed in the competition and today he will face Indonesian Shesar Hiren for a place in the semi-finals.
Shesar, 28, beat Brian Yang of Canada by a draw 18-21, 21-8 and 21-7.
Zii Jia will be confident enough to beat the Indonesian representatives after emerging victorious in their last encounter at the Asian Badminton Championships in Manila where he won the title.
Liew Daren also doubled the happiness of the Malaysian contingent as the 34-year-old beat Japan’s Koki Watanabe 16-21, 22-20 and 21-11.
National Pair No. 1, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah also continued to fly the national flag as they qualified for the women’s doubles quarter-finals after beating Chinese pair Liu Xuanxuan/Xia Yuting 21-17, 21-11.
They have a tough job today against Japan’s world number 4 pair Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota who ended independent badminton hopes Vivian Hoo/Lim Chiew Sien with a fine 21-9, 21-8 win.
Tags: Lee Zii Jia, kento momota, viktor axelsen, Thailand Open 2022
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/badminton/jalan-lee-zii-jia-dipredik-akan-easy-ke-final-thailand-open-2022
