Arctic Open: Zii Jia to face world number two after stunning  win

Lee Zii Jia is set to face his toughest opponent this year when he takes on world number two Christo Popov at the Arctic Open quarter-finals on Friday.

The Malaysian checked into the last eight after turning in one of his best performances of the year to beat Chinese Taipei’s Su Li-yang 21-17, 21-12 in a dominant performance.

Lee certainly did not play like a world number 56 ranked shuttler that he is at present.

He was at his attacking best with his smashing, anticipated his opponent’s shots and defended well and stayed composed during the rallies.

Crucially, the Alor Setar-born also kept the unforced errors to a minimum.

While Lee can enjoy his victory, he will need to anticipate a completely different threat that his French opponent will give him on Sunday.

Like him, Popov’s threat lies in his offensive game. He is also quick, agile and will run for every shuttle.

Lee goes into this showdown as the underdog, and if he can pull off a win, it will indicate he may just have turned the corner in his performance.