KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Malaysia’s professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia secured a spot in the semi-finals after claiming his second Group A victory at the 2024 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China, yesterday.
According to a Bernama report, the world number eight stunned Denmark’s world number two Anders Antonsen, defeating him 21-14, 21-19 in 47 minutes at the Hangzhou Olympic Gymnasium.
“I am very happy to win today. It was a tough match, but I managed to stay focused throughout,” said Zii Jia after the match.
Zii Jia will face China’s Li Shifeng tomorrow in his final group stage match.
Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, also delivered a strong performance after recovering from a first-set loss to beat Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto 19-21, 21-14, 21-15 in their second Group B match.
Aaron and Wooi Yik must secure another victory against Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani in their last group match to confirm their semi-final spot.
Meanwhile, professional men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani revived their semi-final hopes with a hard-fought win over Taiwan’s Lee Jhe Huei and Yang Po Hsuan, clinching the match 15-21, 21-19, 21-13 in Group A.
Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin will need a second group-stage victory against Taiwan’s two-time Olympic champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi Lin to advance to the semi-finals.
