KUALA LUMPUR: Japanese underdog Yushi Tanaka's attempt to spoil Lee Zii Jia's party was effectively shut out by the Malaysian World No. 4 in his march to the Arctic Open quarter-finals in Vantaa, Finland, yesterday.
Zii Jia, the defending champion, stayed sharp and didn't allow Tanaka to deny him a place in the last eight with a comprehensive 21-11, 21-18 win in 42 minutes.
The victory also proved that Zii Jia could continue his fairytale run in Vantaa last year, where he clinched the inaugural tournament after arriving at the super 500 event with a string of early defeats.
A spirited run in Finland last year also helped the independent shuttler survive a mid-year slump where he even took a two-month break from badminton after the Indonesia Open (in June) to rediscover his form.
Zii Jia was expected to face some struggle in overcoming the fast-improving Tanaka, but he subdued the Japanese to stay in the hunt.
Tanaka, not as well known as the other Japanese shuttlers like World No. 6 Kodai Naraoka or Koki Watanabe (No. 14), has been steadily moving up the ranks this year. He won two super 300 events — the Orleans and Canada Opens — this year, besides reaching the semi-finals of the super 500 US Open and the quarter-finals of the Japan Open.
Aware of his opponent's potential, Zii Jia never allowed Tanaka room to settle down and secured a 21-11 win in the first game.
However, the 25-year-old Japanese made a strong fightback in the second game to lead 9-4, but Zii Jia recovered to draw level at 9-9. A neck-and-neck battle ensued after that before Zii Jia raced ahead at 19-15.
Tanaka made a last ditch effort by scoring three points on the trot, but Zii Jia coolly collected the next two points to win 21-18.
The victory also made amends for his unexpected 21-15, 21-2 loss to Tanaka's compatriot Watanabe in the first round of the China Open last month.