KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — National top men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia and mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie huffed and puffed their way into the quarter-finals of the BWF World Championships 2021 in Huelva, Spain, early today.

World number seven and reigning All England champion Zii Jia disposed of Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark 21-15, 15-21, 21-10 after a 58-minute battle in the third round at the Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marin.

His reward is a mouth-watering quarter-final clash against another Dane, world number three Anders Antonsen, as he continues his quest for a first semi-final appearance in the world meet.

In the 2019 World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, Zii Jia crashed out in the quarter-finals, losing 12-21, 8-21 to Japanese star Kento Momota.

"I am happy to get a win against Vittinghus... as usual a very tough match. I think, mentally and focus-wise, I dropped in the second game. But in the third game, I managed to pull away. I am not in the best shape... still happy to get into the quarter-finals. 

"Antonsen is my good friend, he is a very good and matured player now... his performance is also more stable than mine. So, the match will be tough, I have to prepare myself,” he told the Badminton World Federation (BWF) media.

Meanwhile, Soon Huat-Shevon also struggled to get past Yeung Ming Nok-Ng Tsz Yau of Hong Kong 21-8, 19-21, 21-19 in another third-round tie to set up a tricky quarter-final clash against Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand.

Earlier, two independent men’s doubles pairs — Rio 2016 silver medallists Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi — had also progressed into the last eight. — Bernama