PETALING JAYA: It’s all over for independent midfielder Lee Zii Jia at the German Open.
The World No. 7 fell 13-21, 12-21 in 43 minutes to unseeded Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the semifinals of the men’s singles event in Mulheim on Saturday (March 12).
Kunlavut, 20, was on fire as he led all the way to score his third win against the Malaysian.
He had also beaten Zii Jia in the semi-finals of last year’s World Tour Finals and the Swiss Open.
It was the Thai’s third big hair in the tournament after beating Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie (second round) and Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto (quarter-finals).
Zii Jia defeated Kunlavut three times in the finals of last year’s World Tour (group stage), the Thailand Masters (2017) and the German Junior (2016), but yesterday he could not rise to the occasion.
