KUALA LUMPUR: K. Letshanaa was looking forward to a showdown with two-time former world junior champion Goh Jin Wei in the National Championships final this week.
That, however, is not going to happen after Jin Wei withdrew from the competition last night.
It is learnt that Jin Wei had decided to skip the national meet to focus on her preparation for the upcoming World Tour events.
Jin Wei is not the only high-profile name to skip the event, as several other big names, like Lee Zii Jia, Ng Tze Yong, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, have done the same.
Letshanaa, a former Under-16 and Under-18 champion, lived up to her billing as the second seed, when she defeated Johor's Dania Sofea Zaidi 21-8, 21-14 in the second round today.
Letshanaa will play Selangor's Teh Won Quin tomorrow for a place in the quarter-finals.
"I thought Jin Wei was going to play, it would have been nice to meet her in the final. It's just too bad that she has withdrawn," said Letshanaa.
The other notable women's singles players who cleared the second round were third seed Wong Ling Ching, Kasturi Radhakrishnan, Siti Nurshuhaini Azman and Oo Shan Zi.