Hylo Open: Zii Jia enters semis

KUALA LUMPUR: National men's singles ace Lee Zii Jia beat Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand today to book his semi-final berth at the Hylo Open 2021 in Germany.

The 2021 All England Champion won the first game comfortably at 21-13 but was given a scare in the second as he trailed 6-16 before levelling the score at 16-16 and eventually winning 22-20.

The second seeded Zii Jia will next meet the winner of the clash between sixth seed Srikanth Kidambi of India and Hong Kong's third seeded Angus Ng Ka-long, who will play their quarter-final tie later today.

Zii Jia is now the favourite for the title after top seed Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan was upset by Singapore's Loh Kean Yew 21-18, 21-13 in the first round on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Malaysian pair Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei will face Thailand's Supak Jomokh-Supissara Paewsampran in the mixed doubles last eight later today.

-- BERNAMA