Zii Jia uses 'inside knowledge' to topple world No. 2 Popov
KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia put his knowledge of former sparring partner Christo Popov to good use, stunning the French world No. 2 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.
Brief written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
