It was a sensational quarter-finals outing for the Malaysian contingent at the Denmark Open, after Lee Zii Jia and three pairs including Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik booked their semi-finals spots with impressive wins.
It was difficult to point out who stood out, but mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai were surely one of them after the couple stunned second seeds Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino 21-18, 21-14.
Goh-Lai next face Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong for a place in the final.
Lee was another, setting a fiery tempo in his duel against Jonatan Christie before being drawn into a gruelling marathon that saw him cross the finish line 21-16, 18-21, 21-18 in 67 minutes.
The world number three was the aggressor in the opening game, raining down multiple attacks to wear the Indonesian down for the lead.
Christie levelled matters by staying composed in the second after both shuttlers were locked at 15-15 to take it to the decider.
Lee continued to exert pressure with his relentless smashes to see off a battling Christie.
He now goes on to face Loh Kean Yew, who himself pulled off a stunner by dumping out defending champion Viktor Axelsen 21-17, 21-10.
Loh’s victory snapped Axelsen’s 24-match unbeaten streak dating back to the Thailand Open in May where he conceded a second-round walkover.
Before Lee entered the fray, world champions Chia-Soh continued their fine run after handing India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty a 21-16, 21-19 defeat.
The world number four pair have a new found confidence since winning the world meet in August, and will bring that to the fore against Indonesia’s Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon in the semis.
Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, the last Malaysians to feature early Saturday morning capped a memorable day with a 18-21, 21-19, 21-13 win over Chinese Taipei’s Lee Yang-Lu Chen.
The eighth seeds face Indonesians Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto next.
We have four Malaysian representatives in the #DenmarkOpen2022 semi-finals! ?
— Stadium Astro ?? (@stadiumastro) October 22, 2022
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