Lee Zii Jia - AP
PETALING JAYA: It was a double blow for national No. 1's Lee Zii Jia and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik when they were shown exit in the quarter-finals of the Indonesian Masters in Jakarta on Friday (June 10).
Zii Jia's best efforts were in vain when he was ousted by home star Anthony Ginting 21-18, 16-21, 15-21 in a 69-minute men's singles battle. The defeat ended his unbeaten run since winning the Asian title in April.
World No. 6 Aaron-Wooi Yik's have to wait longer to end their individual title chase when they were stunned by Chinese qualifiers Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang 21-16, 13-21, 17-21. Wooi Yik, who was affected by food poisoning, could not give his best.
It was also all over for Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani when they went down 21-10, 11-21, 18-21 to top seeds Marcus Fernaldi-Kevin Sanjaya of Indonesia.
But top women's doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah brought cheer for Malaysia when they marched into the semi-finals with a convincing 21-11, 21-16 win over Thailand's Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai.
They will meet Indonesia's Hanoi SEA Games champions Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti of Indonesia for a place in the final.
