THE last time men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia faced Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn – in the Indonesian Open two months ago – the Thai was in scintillating form, blowing the Malaysian away in straight games 21-16, 21-17.
Zii Jia now has to face the reigning world champion again in a mouth-watering clash in the last four of the Paris Olympics at the Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle today.
Can the Malaysian independent player exact revenge? Or will be the “Thai-phoon” be too strong again?
Already, Kunlavut has shown that he is the man to beat in Paris, pulling off a stunning 21-12, 21-10 win over China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi in the last eight.
The Chinese had been one of the favourites for gold but wilted under pressure as he was outplayed by the impressive 23-year-old.
But Zii Jia was no less impressive in his quarter-final match, taking a commanding 21-17, 21-15 win over world No. 3 Anders Antonsen.
The world No. 7 is now just one win away from becoming only the second Malaysian men’s singles player to reach a final in the Olympics after Lee Chong Wei, who made it into three consecutive finals in the 2008 Beijing, 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro, winning three silvers.
Zii Jia knows he has to be at his best to get past Kunlavut.
“I’m very happy to have reached the semi-final but it’s too early to celebrate as I have another match tomorrow (today) and I need to be ready,” said Zii Jia.
“Kunlavut is world champion and he just beat the top seed. My head-to-head record against him is also not very good. So it will be tough for me.
“He is a rally player, so I’m expecting a lot of long rallies. I need to be mentally prepared.”
Kunlavut, meanwhile, said he might use a different strategy against Zii Jia to the one that proved effective against Yuqi.
“Every player has his own style, and I must adapt accordingly. Also, I have to enjoy my game and the experience,” said Kunlavut.
On his win over Yuqi, he said: “I tried to earn quick points against him because it would have been difficult had I allowed him to attack.
“I had to be faster, keep attacking, and not defend too much to put him under pressure.”
Zii Jia and Kunlavut have both beaten each other four times in their past eight meetings. At the Asian Games two years ago, it was Zii Jia who prevailed. And he will try to repeat the feat on another big stage.
Meanwhile, the other last four match will be between Denmark’s defending champion Viktor Axelsen and India’s 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen.
Axelsen beat Singapore’s 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew 21-9, 21-17 while Lakshya fought hard to overcome Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 19-21, 21-15, 21-12.
The Dane is out to defend his gold and become only the second men’s singles player to win consecutive titles after China’s Lin Dan in 2008 and 2012.
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