Zii Jia reaches Arctic Open quarterfinals; Jonatan advances
Lee Zii Jia reaches Arctic Open quarterfinals on Thursday after he ousted Japanese Yushi Tanaka in Vantaa, Finland.
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ZII JIA REACHES ARCTIC OPEN LAST 8 AFTER BEATING TANAKA
Furthermore, Zii Jia reaches Arctic Open last 8 after he beats Tanaka, 21-11, 21-18.
Moreover, the defending men’s singles champion went off to a hot start before holding off Tanaka in the 42-minute match.
Zii Jia opened his Vantaa campaign by dumping Frenchman Christo Popov, 21-15, 21-11.
Tanaka was hoping for an upset of Malaysia’s world No.4 to inch closer to the level of two of his compatriot shuttles.
Kodai Naraoka is the highest-ranked Japanese shuttler at No.6, followed by No.14 Koki Watanabe.
Tanaka fought back in the second set, where he forced a 9-all tie.
However, Zii Jia emerged on top of a neck-and-neck battle to take a 19-15 lead before clinching the match.
The Malaysian will next face Watanabe for a place in the semifinal.
JONATAN ALSO ADVANCES, ELIMINATES INDIA’S KIRAN GEORGE
Moreover, No.5 seed Jonatan Christie also advanced into the last eight.
Furthermore, the Indonesian pulled off a 21-17, 21-8 victory over India’s Kiran George to join Zii Jia in the next round.
Jonatan scored the last 11 points in the second set to close out George in the 38-minute match.
The Indonesian hopes to win his second title this year after emerging as the champion at the All-England tournament in March.
He is coming off of his semifinal appearances at the Hong Kong and China Open, making him one of the favorites to topple Zii Jia in Finland.
LAKSHYA SEN FALLS SHORT AS INDIA CHALLENGE ENDS IN VANTAA
Furthermore, Lakshya Sen fell short of his goal, as India’s challenge in the tournament ended.
Moreover, the 23-year-old fought for three sets before yielding a 21-19, 18-21, 15-21 loss to Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.
Lakshya edged Chou in the opening set, but he could not sustain the effort in the last two sets.
Chinese Taipei’s No.7 seed was the more aggressive shuttler in the deciding set, as he finished off Lakshya in an hour and 10 minutes.
Lakshya’s loss signaled the end of the Indian shuttler’s stint in Vantaa after Kiran also fell to Jonatan early Thursday.
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