CHENGDU: Professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia got Malaysia off to a ruthless start against Japan in the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup Finals by crushing Kenta Nishimoto 21-13, 21-3 in the first singles on Thursday (May 2).
Japan pulled off a surprise by fielding their second ranked Nishimoto instead of Kodai Naraoka and Zii Jii took advantage of the situation by leading all the way to blow away his out-of-sort opponent in just 33 minutes at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Arena in Chengdu.
It was Zii Jia’s eighth win in 11 meetings against the Japanese.
“I’m definitely very happy to win the first point for the team,” said Zii Jia.
“Nishimoto made a lot of unforced errors in the second game to be honest. I’m not sure what went wrong for him.
“For me, I’m just glad that I could win the game quickly.”
Said a dejected Nishimoto: “Coaches felt that fielding me as the first singles was the best strategy. I tried but Zii Jia was very aggressive in the second game and I lost many consecutive points. I wasn’t injured.”
The world No. 10 Zii Jia’s fine form should motivate doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik to go all the way when they face Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi next in a match between the former world champions.
(More to follow)
Source Agencies
