Malaysia Masters: Antonsen will not be Zii Jia's friend on Friday

Lee Zii Jia and Anders Antonsen will face off at the Malaysia Masters quarter-finals in a battle of good friends, but the Dane promised he will not be the Malaysian’s friend when they face off on Friday.

“We have had a good relationship for a while. But on match day, we will put the friendship aside and have a good fight on court. Afterwards, you can become friends again. But definitely, tomorrow, me and Zii Jia are not friends,” said Antonsen.

The in-form world number four comfortably booked his last-eight berth after disposing of national team-mate Magnus Johannesen 21-12, 21-10.

Lee also won in straight games against Kiran George, beating the Indian 21-13, 21-18 to reach his first quarter-finals on home soil since 2020.

He was happy to have ended that rut, but is aware of the huge test that awaits on Friday.

“I’m happy to have reached my first quarter-finals in a long time. But tomorrow will be a tough match against Antonsen.

“I have to be patient with him, he’s a top player and it will be difficult to get points from him. We are friends, but also professionals so it won’t affect anything,” said the recent Thailand Open champion.

Antonsen has been in Kuala Lumpur for the last two weeks where he has been training at the Academy Badminton Malaysia.

The Dane was also taken for a sumptuous wagyu dinner by Lee and his team members before they left to compete at the Thailand Open.

Antonsen will be hoping to come good again in Malaysia, which saw him open the year with the Malaysia Open title.

After that, he went on to bag the Indonesia Masters and European Championships title.

Lee, meanwhile, has shown a huge improvement over the past week which saw him win the Thailand Open and has now continued in that form at the Axiata Arena.