Lee Zii Jia is already preparing for his second big name upset at the Malaysia Masters after checking into the quarter-finals following an impressive 21-19, 22-20 triumph over Sameer Verma on Thursday.

The Malaysian takes on China’s Shi Yuqi in the last eight on Friday, and he is ready to notch his first win against the world number eight.

"I am hoping to play well against him [Shi Yuqi] and get another upset.

"He has been improving ever since recovering from injury, and I noticed he is slowly regaining his form," said Lee.

Against Verma, Lee attracted a good turnout at the Axiata Arena in his afternoon match, especially after he dumped out world number four Anders Antonsen in the first round.

The lanky shuttler got off to a slow start and was made to trail his Indian counterpart 18-19 at one point, but he powered home three powerful winners to win 21-19.

In the second set, the world number 14 also played catch up at 19-20 before turning on the heat to win 22-20.

"It’s an improvement for me to make this comeback and claim the win. I had to be patient when playing him.

"He’s a rally player, so I had to wait for my chances to get the points," added the SEA Games gold medalist.

World number one and top seed Kento Momota joined Lee in the quarter-finals with a clinical 21-14, 21-16 victory over India’s H.S.Prannoy.

He faces either Huang Yu Xiang or Jan O Jorgensen for a place in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, it was the end of the road for second seed Chou Tien-chen, who was beaten 21-23, 17-21 by Hong Kong’s Angus Ng.