KUALA LUMPUR: National shuttler Tan Jia Wei has big dreams, but the 20-year-old is not in a hurry to realise it.
On Friday, Jia Wei kept Malaysia's hopes of defending the men's singles title alive at the Celcom Axiata Malaysia International Challenge, when he booked his semi-final spot, following a hard fought 19-21, 21-12, 21-18 win over Indonesia's Krishna Adi Nugraha in the last eight at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara.
Jia Wei, who was over the moon with the victory, said: "I really did not expect to win this match but I outdid myself and played better than before. That explains why I screamed and released my emotions after the winning point.
"For now, my aim is to give the best I can and hopefully go far in this tournament. Towards the end of last year I broke into the world top 100. As I have not been performing well lately, I have dropped down to about 150. I need to get that up.
"Of course I have big dreams, to play in the Asian Games for example, but I need to close the gap with my seniors first. Right now, they are more deserving to play in major tournaments. Perhaps I can improve myself and try to win at least a couple of tournaments this year."
Jia Wei, whose last title was the 2017 Polish Open, will take on world junior champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand next.
There was more joy for Malaysia in the singles event when former world junior runner-up (2015) Lee Ying Ying checked into the last four.
Ying Ying, on course to make the Uber Cup squad next month, defeated Thailand's Chasinee Korepap 21-17, 21-10 in the women’s singles quarter-finals, and will face top seed Hanna Ramadini of Indonesia next.