KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s professional men’s singles shuttler, Lee Zii Jia, continued his impressive form at the Orleans Masters in France, advancing to the quarter-finals after defeating India’s Srikanth Kidambi today.
Competing at the Palais des Sports, the world No 8 had little trouble securing a straight-game victory, winning 21-11, 21-17. He will next face Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen for a spot in the semi-finals.
Nguyen progressed after his Japanese opponent, Yushi Tanaka, was forced to retire in the second game due to injury.
Also booking a spot in the quarter-finals was national mixed doubles pair, Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin, who overcame Taiwan’s Ming Che Lu and Hung En Tzu.
The Malaysian duo faced a tough challenge, dropping the first game 16-21 before staging a strong comeback to claim the next two games, 21-13, 21-16.
Pang Ron and Su Yin are set to face Indonesia’s world No 10 pair, Rehan Kusharjanto and Gloria Widjaja, who upset Malaysia’s top-seeded duo, Cheng Tan Jie and Toh Ee Wei, with a 21-8, 21-17 victory.
-- BERNAMA