Lee Zii Jia is playing the best badminton of his career at the Paris Olympics. Consequently, he reached the men’s singles semi-finals this morning (August 3) at the Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle. The independent shuttler survived a late fightback from Anders Antonsen of Denmark. As a result, he secured a 21-17, 21-15 victory in the quarter-finals. Fans expect the world No. 7 to easily defeat Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn and reach the men’s singles final on Sunday.
“I’m quite happy with my performance, I was surprised by how calm I was today,” Zii Jia told BWF. “Happy to reach the semifinals. I didn’t expect it. I’m not thinking about the gold medal yet. I can feel Antonsen’s desire to win, maybe that was one of the reasons he made so many unforced errors. Anders and I have played each other a few times. Even though we are friends, we are clear with each other that on the court, we are enemies.”
Zii Jia will next face Thailand’s reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn for a final spot. Kunlavut recently surprised many by defeating world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi, 21-12, 21-10. Zii Jia and Kunlavut are tied 4-4 in their head-to-head, with Kunlavut winning their last match in June’s Indonesia Open quarter-finals. He admitted that his chances against Kunlavut will be tough because of his unfavorable record against the Thai player.
“Kunlavut is a world champion, and my head-to-head against him is not very good. He is in his best form and he just dumped out the top seed. He looks like he is in good condition and has a lot of confidence, but anything can happen, so yeah we will see,” said Zii Jia.
Zii Jia is now one step away from the final and could end the long wait for gold. Meanwhile, India’s Lakshya Sen will face defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the other semifinal. Sen advanced after a tough 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 victory over Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen.
Rashid: Hard To Predict Men's Singles Finalists
Rashid, 56, noted that predicting the men’s singles finalists is challenging. The competition has been unpredictable, with unseeded Lakshya Sen defeating higher-ranked players and Kunlavut Vitidsarn eliminating top seed Shi Yu Qi.
“In my opinion, it (the semi-finals) is wide open as the top seed (Yu Qi) has been defeated. The match between Lakshya and Axelsen, too, is not a foregone conclusion.
“Lakshya has sent home many seeded players, so to me it is hard to predict who will advance to the final,” said Rashid who won the men’s singles bronze in 1996, Atlanta.
Rashid mentioned that nerves will play a significant role in the semi-finals, as the Olympics occur only every four years, potentially leading players to overthink.
“Whoever can control their nerves better will come out victorious.”
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