Progressing well: Jonatan Christie of Indonesia makes it to the quarter-finals of the Asian Championships in Ningbo, China - S.S.Kanesan/The Star)
PETALING JAYA: Expect a mouth-watering clash between Lee Zii Jia and Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the Asian Championships quarter-finals on Friday.
Third seed Jonatan defeated Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong 21-14, 21-16 on Thursday in Ningbo, China to set up a match against Zii Jia.
Earlier, Zii Jia had beaten Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan 21-15, 21-17 in another second round match.
In the 2022, Zii Jia defeated Jonatan in the final to lift his first Asian title.
It will be their 10th meeting, with the Malaysian having a slight edge, winning all the last five encounters.
It will be also an interesting match as both have won the All-England titles before with the Indonesia winning the recent edition while Zii Jia bagging it in 2021.
Meanwhile, while Indonesia have confirmed Jonatan's inclusion for the Thomas Cup Finals from April 27-May 5, the participation of Zii Jia is still a question mark as he has yet to make a decision.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have invited the professional player to be part of the team but he has yet to make a decision. The closing date for team entries is on April 13.
