Lee Zia stormed into the Thailand Open men's singles final after turning in an explosive come-from-behind performance to beat Chou Tien-chen 18-21, 21-12, 21-13 in the Bangkok semis on Saturday.
It was one of the Malaysian's finest performance this year, and as a result he will go into the final bidding to win his second Thailand Open title in three years.
Lee dominated most of this entertaining match with his smashes, which has become more potent with every game in this tournament and it worked wonders for him against Chou.
Conceding the first game by small margin only seem to fire up the 2022 champion, who returned all guns blazing in the next two.
Lee's defence was also solid in this 66-minute contest, which meant Chou had to work harder to win his points and ultimately ran out of steam against his younger opponent.
Lee will go on to face Hong Kong's Angus Ng Ka Lung, who himself posted a fine 21-14, 18-21, 21-19 victory over defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
Henry Larsson
Sat May 18 2024
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