Battle of Champions: Loh Kean Yew vs longtime rival, M’sia’s Lee Zii Jia, in Indonesia Open quarter-finals
In a highly anticipated match, Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew will face Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the quarter-final for men’s singles at the Indonesia Open on Friday (June 17).
Loh is the reigning World Champion, while Lee is the current Asian Champion.
Longtime rivalry
Loh and Lee, both 24, are longtime rivals, having fought against one another several times in their careers.
They have known each other since childhood, as Loh, is originally from Penang. The two shuttlers faced each other regularly in the national junior circuit of Malaysia.
In 2009, Loh bested Lee at the Under-12 final of the National Junior Grand Prix Finals 2009.
More recently, however, Lee won in three of their last five matches.
Lee is ranked 5th in Badminton World Federation rankings, while Loh holds 9th place.
Last year, Loh defeated Lee in the first round of the French Open in October, scoring 24–22, 21–14.
The Singaporean athlete went on to win the BWF World Championships men’s singles tournament in Huelva, Spain, in December.
Lee had to bow out of the men’s singles quarter-finals at the event due to a blister on his foot in a match when he was up against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, who ended up taking the bronze.
In February of this year, Lee defeated Loh at the Badminton Asia Team Championships on Feb. 16. The Malaysian bested Loh 21-6 and 21-14 in a match that lasted only 30 minutes.
Indonesia Open
On Tuesday (June 14), Loh scored a win on the first day of the Indonesia Open, beating South Korea Heo Kwang-hee, 21-12, 23-21. This is the third time Loh bested Heo, 26, after having beaten him three years ago at the Hyderabad Open and just last month, at the Thomas Cup finals.
Lee, meanwhile, beat India’s Sameer Verma, ranked 30th in the world, 21-10, 21-13 in 41 minutes on Thursday (June 16).
“I feel I am ready to face tougher opponents from the next round. I am glad that I am prepared for the challenge.
The most important thing about playing back-to-back tournaments is maintaining focus. My goal is to regain my focus as the current tournament progresses,” the Malaysian champion is quoted as saying in The New Straits Times.
Whoever wins the match may be facing Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the finals. The next game of Axelsen, ranked number one in the world, is against Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the second round of the Open. /TISG
Loh Kean Yew off to a strong start, winning first game at Indonesia Open
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