Badminton

Zii Jia to face sparring partner in Thailand Open semis

KUALA LUMPUR: Hats off to Liew Daren.

Being one of few active over-30 men's singles players in the top flight, the 34-year-old has proven yet again that he's far from a finished chapter.

He showed his mettle by reaching the Thailand Open semi-finals at Impact Arena in Bangkok today.

Daren outlasted Zhao Jun Peng of China 21-10, 19-21, 21-19 in the 59-minute battle to reach his first Super 500 level semi-finals in three years.

The last time he made it this far was at the 2019 Malaysian Masters.

Training mate Lee Zii Jia made it an all-Malaysian affair to ensure a spot for the country in the men's singles final for the first time since 2005 when Hafiz Hashim emerged champion.

Zii Jia bounced back from a second-game blemish to beat Indonesia's Shesar Hiren Rhustavito 21-10, 14-21, 21-16. The World No 6 was 12-4 down in the third game but managed to claw back for the win.

The other semi-final is between Japan's Kodai Naraoka and China's LI Shi Feng.

In the men's doubles, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik exacted sweet revenge on their final defeat in last year's tournament to dethrone Taiwan's Lee Yang-Wang Chi Lin with a convincing 21-17, 21-10 win in just 29 minutes.

The pair face Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia in the semi-finals.

With just two wins away from the title, Aaron-Wooi Yik hope to shrug off the "nearly men" tag in the Open tournaments.

They have yet to win an Open title despite reaching six career finals as a pair.

Compatriots Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani failed to make it past their last-eight hurdle after going down 23-21, 21-15 to reigning world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi of Japan.

Malaysia's challenge in the mixed doubles ended after Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie were sent packing 21-18, 21-17 by Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino of Japan.

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