KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia is playing the best badminton of his career at the Paris Olympics, and fans are expecting the world No. 7 to easily smash his way past Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn to reach the men's singles final on Sunday.
However, Kunlavut, ranked eighth in the world, is not your average player and has the potential to become an Olympic champion, just as he surprised everyone by winning the world title in Copenhagen last year.
Kunlavut recorded a massive result on Friday by thrashing top seed Shi Yu Qi of China 21-12, 21-10 in the quarter-finals, showing that he is in Paris to stand on the podium.
Meanwhile, Zii Jia defeated Danish star Anders Antonsen 21-17, 21-15 to book his semi-final spot.
Zii Jia has been more impressive than Kunlavut this year, winning the Thailand Open and Australian Open, while Kunlavut's best outing was reaching the final of the French Open.
The Thai also reached three semi-finals this year at the Indonesia Masters, Thailand Open and Indonesia Open.
Zii Jia and Kunlavut are tied 4-4 in their head-to-head record, but the latter won their last encounter at the Indonesia Open in June.
For the record, Zii Jia is Malaysia's last hope of winning a badminton gold medal in Paris, following Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men's doubles) and Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah's (women's doubles) semi-final defeats on Friday.
After his victory over world No. 1 Yu Qi, the 23-year-old Kunlavut indicated he would take a different approach against Zii Jia.
"Every player has their own style, and I must adapt my play accordingly. Also, I have to enjoy my game and the experience."
Against Yu Qi, I tried to earn quick points because it would have been difficult had I allowed him to attack.
"I had to be faster, keep attacking, and not defend too much to put him under pressure," said Kunlavut.
A stunned Yu Qi said: "Kunlavut played really well, and I didn't have many solutions to counter his game. However, I was still trying to catch up, but it was quite challenging.
"I put a lot of effort and time into preparing for the Olympics. It is disappointing that I could not play well today. But I have to accept this result."
Meanwhile, Zii Jia is aware he must produce a "five-star" performance in the semi-finals on Sunday.
"My head-to-head record with Kunlavut is not very good; he is the world champion (2023). I need to make the best preparations," Zii Jia told the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
"He has defeated the top seed in Paris, demonstrating that he is at his best and very confident."