KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — National number one men’s singles shuttler, Lee Zii Jia put up a commendable performance to book his place in the semi-finals of the 2020 All-England Open Badminton Championships at the Arena Birmingham in England today.

The unseeded Zii Jia, who is making his debut in the US$1.1 million (RM4.705 million) prestigious tournament, displayed a gutsy performance against reigning Olympic champion Chen Long of China to chalk a convincing 21-12 and 21-18 victory in his quarter-finals match which was telecast live by a local private television station.

It was Zii Jia’s second victory over the world number five in their last four meetings since 2018. Previously, Zii Jia secured his maiden victory against Chen Long in the 2019 Indonesian Open.

Prior to this, the 2019 SEA Games gold medallist had knocked out world number six Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the opening round of  the All-England on Wednesday.

Zii Jia will meet either the second seed, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark or seventh seed, Shi Yuqi of China for a place in the final. — Bernama