Asian Games: Zii Jia to face world champion Kunvalut in quarterfinals

HANGZHOU: Former All England champion Lee Zii Jia easily cleared his second round obstacle in the Asian Games individual badminton competition to set up a mouth-watering clash against reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the quarter-finals, tomorrow.

After eliminating Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong in the first round yesterday, the world number 19, outclassed Mourinho Zefi Costa Gusmao De Jesus of Timur Leste 21-0, 21-7 in just 17 minutes at the Binjiang Gymnasium, here.

However, Zii Jia is set to face an acid test against Kunlavut in the round of 16, since the Thai shuttler had a bye in the first round.

"Off course everyone knows that the priority will be the next game against Kunlavut. It is a tough challenge for me, especially with my inconsistent performance," said Zii Jia, who was eliminated in the round of 16 during his Asian Games debut in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang games.

"He is a defensive player, rally player, so tomorrow my main priority will be to observe patience. He will be very confident after winning the world championship," Zii Jia told reporters after the match.

Though Zii Jia, who played first, had expected Kunlavut to easily dispose of Nguyen Hai Dang ranked world number 104 today, but the Thai shuttler had to fight back from a set down to beat the Vietnamese 17-21, 21-18, 21-15 after battling for close to 100 minutes.

Kunlavut became Thailand's first men's singles world champion after beating Japan's Kodai Naraoka in Copenhagen, Denmark, last August.

Based on records, both Zii Jia and Kunvalut have won three matches each in their six meetings since 2016, but the Thai shuttler emerged victorious in their last two matches at the 2021 World Tour Finals and 2022 German Open.

Former junior world champion, Goh Jin Wei also advanced to the round of 16 after beating Vu Thi Anh Thu of Vietnam 21-10, 21-13.

The 23-year-old is set to face fifth seed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia, who ousted Ashmita Chaliha of India 21-17, 21-16.

Meanwhile, it was a different fortune for debutant K. Letshanaa, who went down 13-21, 10-21 to Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand.

-- BERNAMA