LEE Zii Jia was up against an entire stadium, and the Malaysian felt the heat as he struggled to tame Frenchman Toma Junior Popov in the last 16 of the Paris Olympics at the Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle.
Buoyed by the partisan crowd, Popov had secured a sensational upset over 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Anthony Ginting of Indonesia in the group match to advance to the last 16. And he was looking to do it again against the Malaysian.Zii Jia, possibly sensing the threat, played sensibly and secured a 21-13, 24-22 win in 47 minutes but not before some anxious moments towards the crucial stages of the second game.
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