Match: Zii Jia Lee v Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, Men's singles quarter-final
Date: 10 February, Friday
Time: 6:15pm SGT/3:45pm IST/10:45am GMT
Venue: Nimibutr Stadium, Bangkok
TV Channel: In Singapore, Hub Sports 1 will provide live TV coverage.
Live streaming: The matches can be watched online at BWF Youtube channel, Hotstar.
Live scores can be found on tournament's official website.
Overview
Zii Jia Lee is the only male player from Malaysia to reach the quarter-final stages of the ongoing Thailand Masters Grand Prix Gold tournament. With Lee Chong Wei and Iskandar Zulkarnain not featuring in tournaments in the new season, the shuttlers from the country have faced disappointing results so far but the 18-year-old's progress has been a big confidence-booster.
Zii Jia stunned ninth seed Ihsan Maulana Mustofa of Indonesia in the Round of 32 clash on Thursday in straight games - 21-19, 21-14 to announce his arrival in the senior scene. Notably, the teenager won a bronze at the World Junior Championships last year and has been performing well at the junior level.
Despite starting the season with a first-round exit at the Malaysia Masters last month, Zii Jia has looked impressive in Thailand with three straight games wins so far. On Friday, the Malaysian shuttler will take on world number 11 and top seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in his last-eight round.
Tanongsak had a tremendous season in 2016 in which he won his maiden Superseries title in Denmark beating the likes of Anders Antonsen and Son Wan Ho enroute to title. He began 2017 by featuring in the Premier Badminton League and played a crucial role with Chennai Smashers, who went on to win the cash-rich league.
The local shuttler, who will have the crowd support, is favourite to progress to the semi-final of his first tournament this year. On the other hand, Zii Jia, who will be eyeing another upset, has to punch above his weight if he is to stand a chance against Tanongsak.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Singapore: Hub Sports 1
