LONDON, March 19 (Bernama) -- Defending champion Lee Zii Jia from Malaysia defeated 2019 champion Kento Momota to reach the men's singles semifinals at the All England Badminton Open on Friday.
Lee, 23, dominated the opening game by winning it 21-7, but lost the following one 13-21. In the deciding game, Lee seesawed with his Japanese rival until 11-11, and then grabbed 10 points in a row to seal the victory.
"There was a wind difference on the court and in the first game, Momota couldn't control the shuttle and the pace very well," reported Xinhua News Agency quoting Lee as saying by the official website of the tournament.
"I had the same problem in the second.
"I tried to speed up the game in the rubber and focus on my attacking shots. The strategy worked well now and this win will give me a lot of confidence.
Lee will face Indian prodigy Lakshya Sen on Saturday as the 20-year-old won the quarterfinal without sweat due to a walkover of China's Lu Guangzu.
Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark reached his fourth consecutive semifinal at All England after sweeping Indonesian fifth seed Anthony Ginting 21-4, 21-9.
The Dane will fight for a final berth against Chou Tien Chen from Chinese Taipei.
In the women's event, China's Olympic champion Chen Yufei will meet Akane Yamaguchi from Japan in the semifinals while top seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei is going to lock horns with South Korean An Seyoung.
-- BERNAMA
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