Lee Zii Jia described his comeback victory against Shi Yuqi as the “biggest win of his career” after the Malaysian won 12-21, 21-16, 21-19 in a pulsating quarter-final action at the 2020 Malaysia Masters on Friday.
His reward is a tantalising semi-final showdown against world number one and top seed Kento Momota, who ousted China’s Huang Yu Xiang 21-13, 19-21, 21-9.
"I was outstanding today. It’s been a while since I played this well.
"I could see he was still struggling with his leg injury, but Shi Yuqi is an experienced player and he used that to his advantage today.
"I did not know how to play him in the first set. But I am learning how to be strong mentally in situations like this. I can calm myself in crucial moments,” said Lee.
In front of a big crowd at the Axiata Arena, Lee struggled in the opener against the world number eight, committing numerous unforced errors to surrender 12-21.
But he grew into the match in the second set, forcing his Chinese opponent to a net game which he excelled to win 21-16.
Lee was fired up in the deciding game too as he led 18-16 before Shi forced a tie at 18-18.
Credit to the world number 14, he did not wilt and managed to cross the line, setting up a meeting with the seemingly invincible Momota.
"It will take something extraordinary to beat Momota.
"You need to be fit, you need to attack him with constant speed and not make mistakes. But I will play like how I did today and we’ll see what happens," he added.
Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying are the other Malaysians joining Lee in the semi-finals after they beat Japanese pair Takuro Hoki-Wakana Nagahara 21-15, 21-18 in the mixed doubles.
They next face China’s second seeds Wang Yi Lyu-Huang Dong Ping.
It was the end of the road for men’s doubles pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, who lost to South Koreans Kim Gi-jung-Lee Yong-dae 21-19, 15-21, 20-22.
Nicolas Anil
Fri Jan 10 2020
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