Match: Zii Jia Lee v Kantaphon Wangcharoen, Men's singles semi-final
Date: 11 February, Saturday
Time: 12:50pm SGT/10:20am IST/4:50am GMT
Venue: Nimibutr Stadium, Bangkok
TV Channel: In Singapore, Hub Sports 1 will provide live TV coverage.
Live streaming: The match can be watched online at BWF Youtube channel, Hotstar.
Live scores can be found on tournament's official website.
Overview
While Malaysia badminton is facing a crisis situation due to the rift between world number one Lee Chong Wei and Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) technical director Morten Frost, 18-year-old Zii Jia Lee has given the singles unit something to cheer about.
After a series of disappointing results for the Malaysian singles players at Malaysia Masters and Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold tournaments in 2017, Zii Jia stunned top seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in straight games - 21-18, 21-12 - in the quarter-final, that lasted only 32 minutes on Friday.
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The world number 230 was tested in the first game by Denmark Open 2016 winner but the World Junior Championships bronze medallist showed grit and determination to produce the biggest upset of the tournament so far. Notably, Zii Jia also outclassed ninth seed Ihsan Maulana Mostafa 21-19, 21-14 in his third-round clash on Thursday.
While maintaining that the semi-final appearance has been one of the biggest achievements of his career so far, Zii Jia said does not want to become complacent but is focussed on producing better results. The Malaysian shuttler takes on Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the last-four match on Saturday. The Thai teenager, ranked 142, outclassed India's Aditya Joshi in straight games to set up the clash with Zii Jia.
"I did not expect to come this far ... it is the biggest achievement in my career. Beating Ihsan on Thursday gave me lots of confidence. Today [Friday], I was not intimidated by my opponent's world ranking. I just focused on giving my best," Zii Jia said, as quoted by The Star.
"It is still too early to celebrate. I have a long way to go. I hope to keep giving my best in every match ... there are still many things for me to learn."
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Singapore: Hub Sports 1
