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BIRHIMGHAM, UK: Lee Zii Jia surprised two-time world champion Kento Momota by reaching the semi-finals of the All England Open on Friday (March 19).
The Malaysian beat the world number one 21-16, 21-19 to end his Japanese opponent’s tournament after a highly anticipated return to international action this week.
The pair went blow for blow until the break, taken at 11-8. Lee advanced from there, matching Momota’s crisp movement to earn seven straight points and take the first game 21-16.
The 22-year-old capitalized on his advantage, extending to an 11-6 lead at halftime in a second set of white knuckles on empty sand in Birmingham.
Lee saw a net rope heading towards him to put the 20-19 and then sealed the match against the 2019 champion.
“I have never won it before so this is a very special moment for me,” said the Malaysian, who has long been a big fan of the Japanese player.
“I studied a lot about Momota. Every time I played him, there seems to be a huge gap between us.
“I always talk about the strategy I have to play against him, we work a lot on that. Today is a great victory for us.”
The draw has been opened for Lee, who will face Mark Clajouw of the Netherlands in the semi-finals.
Momota, 26, who successfully returned to national badminton by winning the Japan Championship in December, was playing his first event of the BWF world tour since a car accident in January 2020 in Malaysia, in which he suffered a broken neck. eye socket and its driver. was murdered.
He missed his planned return to the international tour in January after testing positive for Covid-19, prompting the Japan team to withdraw from three events in Thailand.
Denmark’s second seed Viktor Axelsen beat Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin 21-4, 21-15 to advance to the last four on Friday.
In the women’s event, Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara beat Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 18-21, 21-8, 21-16.
The Indonesian team was forced to withdraw from the tournament earlier this week after a passenger on its flight to Britain tested positive for the coronavirus.
Since the All England Open does not count towards Olympic qualification, major Asian badminton nations China, South Korea and Taiwan had chosen not to travel due to Covid-19 restrictions.
