KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — National badminton singles champion Lee Zii Jia failed to advance to the final of the 2022 German Open when he lost unexpectedly to world number 20 Kunlavut Vitidsarn from Thailand in yesterday’s semi-final match.
World number 7 Zii Jia failed to shine against the lower-ranked Thai player, losing 13-21, 12-21 in their match at Westenergie Sporthalle, Muelheim.
Kunvalut advances to the final after spending 40 minutes to down 23-year-old Zii Jia and is expected to meet the winner of the other semi-final match last night between top seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and tournament surprise Indian Lakshya Sen.
Meanwhile, national men’s doubles Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani pulled off an upset when they defeated Chinese pair He Ji Ting-Zhu Hao Dong in their semi-final match and booked their place in the final.
Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin got off to an aggressive start in the first game, storming to a 21-12 victory.
Ji Ting-Hao Dong then mounted a spirited resistance in the second game, valiantly trying to deny Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin the win, but the Malaysian pair persisted and won 21-18 after 39 minutes.
The Malaysians are slated as the winners of the semi-final match between Chinese pair Liu Yuchen-Ou and Danes Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Ramussen.
— Bernama
