Kuala Lumpur –
Shesar Hiren Rhustavito made it to the quarterfinals Malaysia Open 2022 after subduing the mainstay of the host, Lee Zi Jia late game three games, 21-19, 19-21, 21-16.
Playing at the Axiata Arena, Thursday (30/6), Vito performed well in the first game. After the 3-3 score, he managed to lead 7-3 and finally closed the interval with an 11-6 advantage. However, after a break, Lee gave fierce resistance and successfully chased Vito’s points.
Last year’s All England champions managed to level the score at 15-15, even leading 16-15, but Vito did not give up and took two points to take a 17-16 lead.
After that, Vito did not lose momentum and locked the first game victory with a score of 21-19. In the second game, the fierce fight happened again.
The pursuit of points is back to being a treat for the audience. Lee had a 7-4 lead, but Vito equalized the score to 7-7. Lee finally closed the interval with a score of 11-9.
After the break, Lee started to maintain the lead to 15-12, but Vito again managed to equalize until the score was 18-18. But at the crucial moment, Lee managed to outperform Vito and this time won 21-19.
In the deciding game, Vito was able to hold Lee to 4-4, but then Lee managed to 9-4. Vito managed to catch up to 8-10, before Lee took the points to close the interval with a score of 11-8.
After that, Lee managed to add two points to lead 13-8, one of which was through a smash that Vito failed to anticipate. But Lee’s streak of errors, whose returns hit the net multiple times, allowed Vito to equalize at 13-13.
Lee’s out-of-the-net strikes gave Vito the advantage to lead 17-14. Lee tried to make amends with one hard smash, making the score 15-17. The home crowd did not stop supporting Lee, but he was even further behind 15-19.
Two net returns from Lee saw Vito seal a 21-16 win in the third game. He is entitled to the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open 2022 to meet Kento Momota on Friday (1/7) tomorrow. The three Indonesian men’s singles are still unstoppable so far.
Meanwhile, women’s doubles Febriana Dwi Puji Kusuma/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi failed to penetrate the top eight after being defeated by Du Yue / Li Wen Mei (China) with a score of 21-19, 16-21, 21-23 after a fierce battle for 91 minutes.
(adp/krs)
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