PETALING JAYA: The Thailand Masters quarter-finals between Lee Zii Jia and Alwi Farhan of Indonesia on Friday (Jan 29) promises to be a fascinating contest, with more than just a place in the semi finals at stake.
For Zii Jia, the match carries added significance as he faces his former coach, Indra Wijaya, who guided him in 2022 before their partnership ended on a sour note after just nine months.
The dispute even reached the labour court before both sides reached an amicable settlement.
Indra now coaches Alwi, who recently clinched the Indonesian Masters title and last year's SEA Games singles gold.
Alwi, the tournament’s second seed, reached the quarter finals by defeating Israel’s Daniil Dubovenko 21-14, 21-10, while Zii Jia had to fight back from a game down to beat world No. 60 Mithun Manjunath 11-21, 21-16, 21-12.
"Back in the quarter finals of a tournament. Another win here at the Thailand Masters 2026," Team LZJ wrote on social media, referring to Zii Jia’s morale-boosting victory yesterday.
A victory for Zii Jia would see him reach the semi-finals for the first time since the Paris Olympics in August 2024.
Fate was unkind to compatriot Justin Hoh as his run in the tournament ended at the hands of China’s Zhu Xuanchen, 17-21, 22-20, 9-21.
