KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia pulled everything out of the bag today, but it was just not enough to see the World No. 5 through to the final of the Indonesia Open.
The Malaysian fought tooth and nail, even saving four match points in the decider before succumbing 19-21, 21-11, 23-21 to defending champion and world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in the semi-final.
The win was the Dane's fifth over Zii Jia in seven meetings.
"Axelsen is enjoying his best form right now, and it's really hard for anybody to beat him," said Zii Jia after the match.
"I put all my focus on the match today, but there are still some minor points that I need to polish up. Overall, I played well here in Indonesia, one quarter-final (Indonesia Masters) and one semi-final.
"Now, I have three back-to-back tournaments to look ahead to," added Zii Jia.
Axelsen admitted that Zii Jia gave him a tough time, and he couldn't contain his emotions after clinching the match point.
"I was emotional today, to say the least. This is sport, and I want this (win) so much. My feelings are obvious. Today was a really fun game. It was really hard to control, but I'm proud of how I came back," said the reigning All England champion.
Axelsen, fresh from winning the Super 500 Indonesia Masters last week, will face the winner of the match between India's H.S. Prannoy and China's Zhao Jun Peng in tomorrow's final.
Only two Malaysians — Yong Hock Kin and Lee Chong Wei — had won the Indonesia Open men's singles title since the tournament's inception 40 years ago.