Zii Jia stuns world No. 2 Popov at Arctic Open
KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia upstaged France’s world No. 2 Christo Popov to reach the Arctic Open semi-finals on Friday.
Lee Zii Jia, the world No. 56, stunned former world No. 2 Christo Popov to reach the semi-finals of the Arctic Open in Finland. Zii Jia, who had trained with Popov's brothers before the 2024 Malaysia Open, swept aside the French player 21-11, 21-16 in their quarter-final clash. This victory extends Zii Jia's head-to-head advantage over Popov to 3-0, despite the ranking gap.
Zii Jia will face either Hu Zhe An or Anders Antonsen for a spot in the final. This semi-final appearance marks a turnaround from Zii Jia's previous tournament, the Vietnam Open, where he suffered a second-round defeat.
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