KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — Malaysia’s professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia saw his hopes of progressing further in the Orleans Masters, France dashed after losing to unseeded Irish player Nhat Nguyen in the quarterfinals early this morning (Malaysia time).
According to national news agency Bernama, Nguyen needed just 39 minutes to secure a 23-21, 21-7 victory over top-seeded Zii Jia in the match held at Palais des Sports,.
The victory allowed Nguyen to break his losing streak against Zii Jia, having lost in all three of their previous encounters, and he will now face France’s Alex Lanier in the semifinals later today.
This tournament marked Zii Jia’s first competition of the season after recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the BWF World Tour last December.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s men’s doubles pair, Arif Junaidi and Yap Roy King, advanced to the semifinals after defeating Taiwan’s Lee Jhe Huei and Yang Poh Hsuan 21-19, 21-18.
The Malaysian duo is now set for a tough challenge against the tournament’s top seeds, Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, in their first-ever meeting in the semifinals.
