Lee Zii Jia on Friday shocked two-time world champion Kento Momota to reach the semi-finals of the All England Open.
The Malaysian beat the world No. 1 21-16, 21-19 to end his Japanese opponent’s tournament after a much-anticipated return to international action this week.
The pair went blow-for-blow up until the interval, taken at 11-8.
Photo: AFP
Lee surged on from there, matching Momota’s razor-sharp movement to win seven straight points and take the first game.
The 22-year-old drove home his advantage, stretching out to an 11-6 lead at the break in a white-knuckle second game in the empty arena in Birmingham.
Lee saw a net cord go his way to make it 20-19 and he went on to seal the match against the 2019 champion.
Photo: AP
“I’ve never beaten him before, so this is a very special moment for me,” said the Malaysian, who has long been a keen follower of the Japanese player. “I did a lot of studying about Momota. Every time I played him, it seems like there’s a big gap between us. I always discuss about what strategy I have to play against him, we worked a lot on that. Today is a big win for us.”
The draw has opened up for Lee, who faced Mark Clajouw of the Netherlands in the semi-finals, with those matches finishing after press time last night.
Momota, 26, who made a successful return to domestic badminton by winning the All-Japan Championship in December last year, was playing his first BWF world tour event since a car crash in Malaysia in January last year, in which he sustained a fractured eye socket and his driver was killed.
Photo: AP
He missed out on his planned comeback to the international tour in January after testing positive for COVID-19, which led to the Japan squad pulling out of three events in Thailand.
Denmark’s second seed Viktor Axelsen beat Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand 21-4, 21-15 to progress to the last four.
In the women’s event, Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara beat Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 18-21, 21-8, 21-16.
With the All England Open not counting toward Olympic qualification, leading Asian badminton nations Taiwan, China and South Korea opted not to travel because of COVID-19 restrictions.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS