BWF Malaysia Masters 2024: Limping Lee Zii Jia wins semi to set up mouth-watering final clash with Viktor Axelsen
Lee Zii Jia will have a shot at his second BWF World Tour title in as many weeks after winning his semi-final at the 2024 BWF Badminton Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (25 May).
Playing at his home event, Lee will next face men's top seed and world number one Viktor Axelsen after beating Hong Kong China’s Ng Ka Long Angus 21-15, 21-17 in a repeat of last weekend’s Thailand Open final.
Lee cautiously started the contest with the duo exchanging points, but the Malaysian pulled ahead after they were level at 6-6. He held a five-point lead at the game interval, and while Ng came close to restoring the status quo, Lee again proved too strong taking the first 21-15.
Ng moved into the driver’s seat in the second game after taking an early 6-3 lead and looked set to level the scores with Lee limping and increasingly receiving medical attention.
But the tenacious Lee would not be denied in front of his home crowd as he fought his way back from 17-13, scoring eight points on the trot to march into his maiden Malaysian Masters final.
Lee has never won a top level title on home soil, and will have a mountain to climb in Sunday’s final where he will face reigning Olympic champion Axelsen.
Axelsen reached his first final of the 2024 season in emphatic fashion, with a 21-6, 21-13 demolition of Lu Guang Zu of the People’s Republic of China.
The 15-point rout in the first game was Axelsen’s biggest winning game margin ever over Lu. Axelsen will be looking to carry this form into the final as he starts his buildup to his Olympic title defence in earnest.
In the women’s singles semis, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu came from behind to beat Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 13-21, 21-16, 21-12 to reach her first BWF World Tour final since the Spain Masters in April 2023.
Sindhu will face second seed Wang Zhi Yi, who came out on top in an all-China semi-final where she beat Wang Yi Man 21-9, 21-11.
The Malaysia Masters is available to watch live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics mobile app, subject to territorial restrictions applying.
