KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — National top men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia continued his winning run in the BWF (Badminton World Federation) World Tour Finals 2021 as he clobbered Toma Junior Popov of France in the Group B second match at Bali, Indonesia, today.

The world number eight Zii Jia barely broke a sweat in the first set as he notched a 21-13 win before a gutsy effort from the Frenchman, ranked 33rd best in the world, saw the 23-year-old Malaysian recorded a tight victory, 21-19, in the second set.

Zii Jia’s latest victory saw him top Group B as he inched closer to the last four and the Kedahan will conclude his final group match against India’s K Srikanth tomorrow.

Meanwhile, up-and-coming women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah produced great fighting spirit as they created an upset over world number nine Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand, in a must-win Group A match to ensure the national duo remain in the hunt for a spot in the semis.

The world number 17 pair endured a slow start in the early stages of the first set, which saw them trailing 1-6, before they fought back to record a tight 23-21 win, and carried on their fine momentum with a 21-14 victory. 

In the meantime, Rio 2016 mixed doubles silver medallists, Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying secured another win as they overcame Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje of Denmark in a rubber set, 21-17, 19-21, 21-16 in a Group A match.

However, it was the end of the road for another mixed doubles duo, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing as they suffered a second defeat in a row in the other Group A match at the hands of world number four Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino of Japan 21-16, 21-10.

National professional men’s doubles duo, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi came from behind after losing the first set, 12-21, to get past the home pair Pramudya Kusumawardana-Yeremia Rambitan, in the next two games, 21-11, 21-18, to register their second win in Group B match. — Bernama