Lee Zii Jia reaches Arctic Open last eight, Popov next

Lee Zii Jia reached the Arctic Open quarter-finals on Thursday, beating Taiwan’s Su Li Yang 21-17, 21-12 in Vantaa, Finland. The professional men’s singles player took 46 minutes to secure his place in the last eight of the Super 500 tournament at Energia Arena.

The world No. 56, who won the event in 2023, now faces second seed Christo Popov of France in Friday’s quarter-finals. Zii Jia is unseeded this year, while Popov also came through his second-round match in straight games.

Popov sets up quarter-final meeting

Popov defeated India’s Tharun Mannepalli 21-14, 21-19 to advance. That result sets up a meeting between the second seed and the former champion, with a place in the semi-finals at stake.

Zii Jia secured his win without needing a deciding game. Su Li Yang kept the opening game close before Zii Jia took it 21-17, then claimed the second 21-12 to complete his passage to the quarter-finals.

Malaysian mixed doubles pairs exit

Two national mixed doubles pairs were eliminated. Jimmy Wong and Cheng Su Yin took the opening game 21-19 against Japan’s Akira Koga and Natsu Saito, but lost the next two 7-21, 11-21.

Chen Tang Jie and Chan Wen Tse also went out, losing 15-21, 14-21 to China’s top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping. Their match lasted 40 minutes. Unlike Zii Jia, neither Malaysian pair was able to extend its run to the quarter-finals.

Aaron and Roy King move on

There was another Malaysian victory in the men’s doubles. National pair Aaron Tai and Yap Roy King defeated Taiwan’s seventh seeds Lee Fang-Chih and Lee Fang-Jen 21-19, 21-11 in 39 minutes to reach the quarter-finals.

Aaron and Roy King will next face either Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul or Scotland’s Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley. While their next opponents remain to be decided, Zii Jia already knows he must get past Popov to continue his singles campaign.

The Arctic Open, which offers total prize money of US$500,000 (RM2.04 million), runs until October 11. Friday’s quarter-finals are the next step for Zii Jia and the Malaysian men’s doubles pair after their second-round wins.