Staying cool: Lee Zii Jia hopes to beat Toma Popov for a place in the quarter-finals.- OCM
PETALING JAYA: Men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia will face Frenchman Toma Popov in the last 16 of the Paris Olympics on Thursday (Aug 1 at 8.10pm).
Zii Jia was expected to take on Indonesia's world No. 9 Anthony Ginting but in a surprising twist, the latter was eliminated from the competition after he went down 19-21, 21-17, 15-21 to a spirited Popov in the last Group H match on Wednesday (July 31).
Zii Jia, who finished top of Group G after easily dispatching off Spain's Pablo Abian 21-10, 21-13, will now play the world No. 20 for a place in the quarter-finals.
The world No. 7 has a flawless record against Popov, beating him in all their past four meetings.
Zii Jia though is wary of the threat posed by the 25-year-old.
"It will be tough to play against Popov as he will have the backing of the home fans and will be more spirited and confident than usual," Zii Jia told the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Zii Jia is attempting to go one better after losing to China's Chen Long in his debut in the 2021 Tokyo Games.
OTHER FIXTURES (THURSDAY, AUG 1)
QUARTER-FINALS
Women's doubles
2.30pm: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah vs Kim So-yeong-Kong Hee-yong (Kor)
Men's doubles
7pm: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik vs Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind)
LAST 16
Men's singles
8.10pm: Lee Zii Jia vs Toma Popov (Fra)
