PETALING JAYA: Lee Zii Jia and Christo Popov have both secured their places in the Arctic Open quarter-finals, but the two will head into today’s meeting with different expectations.
World No. 2 Popov has made no secret of his ambition in Vantaa, Finland, but the Frenchman knows the men’s singles field remains wide open despite his lofty ranking.
Popov has never beaten Zii Jia before, even losing to the Malaysian in the first round of the 2024 Arctic Open.
“Well, as the player I’m today, I think it’s fair to say that I’m here to win the title. But of course, the road to it is very difficult,” said the 2025 European singles and doubles champion Popov in a post-match interview with Badminton Europe.
“I think there are many players who can do it, so I’m going to take it match by match because the level is very close.”
Popov also believes the world rankings do not always tell the full story, with many players capable of beating each other on any given day.
“To be honest, I pay attention to it not because I’m involved, but because I also see that the rankings today do not necessarily reflect who the in-form players are.
“Of course, there is a reason why you are world No. 1, two, three, four or five. But at the end of the day, in every tournament, I think a lot of matches can be 50-50,” he added.
The second seed reached the quarter-finals after beating India’s Tharun Mannepalli 21-14, 21-19 at the Energia Arena yesterday.
Zii Jia, meanwhile, booked his place in the last eight with a 21-17, 21-12 win over Taiwan’s Su Li-yang.
The world No. 56 has good memories of Vantaa after winning the title here in 2023, but his expectations are much more modest this time after a difficult run of form in recent months.
“I’ve been struggling a lot these past two years and I keep trying to get back to my best.
“Of course, I have great memories here, but I can’t say that I’m here to win the title because I think that’s too much for me right now.
“For me, it’s about trying to get my confidence back, match by match. That’s my main focus,” said Zii Jia.
