Lee Zii Jia did all he could to give Kento Momota a fight in their Malaysia Masters semi-final clash but fell to a 10-21, 19-21 loss to the world number one whom he claimed was only playing at half tank.
"He did not look like he was serious. I can see he was out there to just enjoy himself. The gap between us is still big. It is frustrating to lose to him again," said Lee of his 43-minute defeat.
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Including Saturday's defeat, it meant the Malaysian lost to the Japanese in all their six meetings.
RALLY OF THE DAY
— Stadium Astro (@stadiumastro) January 11, 2020
2020 BWF Malaysia Masters
Men's Singles, Semi-finals
Kento Momota vs Lee Zii Jia
Watch the BWF Malaysia Masters on Astro GO: https://t.co/ANazrGAxww pic.twitter.com/WAMJGyAfg9
Lee had dumped out other big names like Anders Antonsen and Shi Yuqi to book a showdown with Momota, but he knew it would take a miracle to topple the shuttler who won 11 titles last year.
Momota was his usual ice cool self from the start, pushing Lee into deep pockets of the court and forcing the 21-year-old into unforced errors.
He took the first game easily, and despite Lee’s valiant effort in the second game, romped to a straightforward win.
"His game is simple, but you need some extraordinary to beat him. He is capable of withstanding a 100 or 200 shot rally, and not even the top five players can do that.
"I still have a lot to improve. I will speak to my coaches on my game after this," added Lee.
The win saw Momota book a meeting in the final with Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, who was equally impressive in a 21-14, 21-18 victory over Hong Kong’s Angus Ng.
It was also the end of the road for mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, who lost 10-21, 13-21 to China’s Wang Yi Lyu-Huang Dong Ping.
SATURDAY RESULTS
Men’s Singles
Kento Momota (JPN) bt Lee Zii Jia (MAS) 21-10, 21-19
Viktor Axelsen (DEN) bt Angus Ng Ka Long (HKG) 21-14, 21-18
Women’s Singles
Tai Tzu-ying (TPE) bt He Bing Jiao (CHN) 21-17, 21-12
Chen Yu Fei (CHN) bt Carolina Marin (ESP) 21-15, 21-14
Men’s Doubles
Kim Gi-jung-Lee Yong-dae (KOR) bt Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto (INA) 14-21, 21-19, 21-15
Li Jun Hui/Liu Yu Chen (CHN) bt Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (INA) 22-20, 19-21, 24-22
Women’s Doubles
Li Wen Mei/Zheng Yu (CHN) bt Greysia Polli/Apriyani Rahayu (INA) 21-19, 18-21, 21-19
Du Yue/Li Yin Hui (CHN) bt Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida (JPN) 21-14, 19-21, 21-11
Mixed Doubles
Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong (CHN) bt Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (INA) 21-13, 21-12
Wang Yi Lyu/Huang Dong Ping (CHN) bt Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying (MAS) 21-10, 21-13
