All England: Zii Jia Goes Down Fighting
A fairytale final on his YONEX All England 2020 debut nearly came to pass for Lee Zii Jia, the Malaysian coming within a whisker of beating second seed Viktor Axelsen in today’s men’s singles semifinal.
· DEV SUKUMAR
However, Lee’s campaign ran out at the end of 73 minutes of high-class action, with Axelsen edging through 17-21 21-13 21-19 and staying in the hunt for his first All England crown.
At 19-all, the Malaysian pounced on a net opening, but it was ruled a fault by the umpire, giving Axelsen match point.
The match had been intensely fought, with Lee Zii Jia showing no sign of big-match nerves, considering he was in his first Super 1000 semifinal. Lee started out playing the patient game; Axelsen was the one creating all the chances, while Lee stayed in the rallies and worked on his patience.