MEN’S singles player Lee Zii Jia advanced to the semi-finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, beating Anders Antonsen from Denmark in straight sets this morning.
In the quarter-final action at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Zii Jia won 21-17, 21-15 against the world no. 3, continuing his streak of wins in major tournaments.
Seventh seed Lee beat world no. 20 Toma Junior Popov 21-13, 24-22 iat La Chapelle Arena to set up a last-eight clash with Denmark's Anders Antonsen.
"I'm quite happy with my performance. I was surprisingly calm in such a big match while it seemed like Antonsen wanted to win too much and ended up making many unforced errors," Lee said in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation.
"This is the Olympics, and everyone wants to win, and it depends on who can stay calm and handle all sorts of situations, especially the pressure."
In the semi-final tomorrow, Lee will meet 2023 world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn from Thailand, who pulled off a surprise win against world no. 1 Chinese player Shi Yu Qi, in a jaw-dropping 21-12, 21-10 straight sets victory.
Shi was one of the favourites for the gold but had no answers against the 23-year-old Lee, who played brilliantly to cause the biggest upset in the games.
Meanwhile, India's Lakshya Sen also made it into the semi-finals after a hard-fought 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 win over Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen.
Lakshya will face Denmark's defending champion Viktor Axelsen next.
The reigning Olympic champion pulled off a 21-9, 21-17 win against Singapore's 2021 world title winner Loh Kean Yew in another quarter-final match. – August 3, 2024.
