Lee Zii Jia crumbled against a hungry Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the men’s singles semi-finals of the Toyota Thailand Open at the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok on Saturday.
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The 17th ranked Malaysian just could not move into another gear when it mattered against the third-ranked Tien Chen in his 14-21, 20-22 defeat in 46 minutes.
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Still, it was an encouraging performance from the Kedah-born Zii Jia who next heads to Basel, Switzerland for the World Championships later this month.
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The semi-finals in the Thailand Open is a confidence boost for Zii Jia, who before this could only manage six quarter-final appearances.
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With the defeat in Bangkok, Tien Chen now leads 3-2 in the head to head tally in five meetings.
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Meanwhile, former World No 1 Ratchanok Intanon, kept Thailand’s hopes of winning the women’s singles title alive in the USD350,000 world tour event, by reaching the final after a hard-fought 23-21, 17-21, 21-19 win over compatriot Pornpawee Chochuwong in a marathon 81 minutes.
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Ratchanok will face China’s top seed Chen Yufei for the title on Sunday. Yufei was too strong for Japan’s Sayaka Takahashi in her 21-16, 21-19 win in 43 minutes. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH
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