Hylo Open: Zii Jia inches away from first title in eight months

KUALA LUMPUR: National top men's singles, Lee Zii Jia is getting closer to clinch his first title in eight months after he stormed to the final of Hylo Open 2021 in Germany, earlier today, Malaysian time.

The second seed shuttler defeated sixth seed player, Srikanth Kidambi of India in the last four to set up a final showdown against the unseeded Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, later today.

However, it was not an easy ride for Zii Jia as Srikanth showed his resilience in the first set before the Kedahan player recorded a slim victory 21-19.

In the second set, Zii Jia once again survived a scare as the world number eight fought back from a 9-15 deficit to catch Srikanth and eventually got lucky to advance to the final after he won 22-20.

This was Zii Jia's first final after he defeated world number two, Victor Axelsen of Denmark 30-29, 20-22, 21-9 en route to win the All England Badminton Championships 2021 in Birmingham, England, last March.

In the meantime, the world number 40 Kean Yew continued his fine run in Germany as he defeated Srikanth's compatriot, Lakshya Sen 21-18, 21-12 in the other semis.

The 22-year-old Zii Jia will surely seek to avenge his shock early exit at the hands of Kean Yew as the latter pulled off a sensational win 24-22, 21-14 in the first round of the French Open last month.

-- BERNAMA