KUALA LUMPUR: The much-anticipated last-16 clash between Lee Zii Jia and Indonesia's Anthony Ginting at the Paris Olympics did not materialise.
World No. 7 Zii Jia will face Frenchman Toma Junior Popov instead after the latter stunned Anthony, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, 21-19, 17-21, 21-15, to emerge as Group H winner, sending the home crowd at Porte De La Chapelle into a frenzy yesterday.
Anthony's exit completed a disastrous day for Indonesia as their challenge was completely wiped out after world No. 4 Jonatan Christie was pipped to the top spot in Group L by India's Lakhsya Sen.
From Zii Jia's perspective, perhaps he would prefer to meet world No. 20 Popov over Anthony, considering how dominant he is over the Frenchman, boasting an unbeaten record in four meetings to date.
However, Zii Jia is under no illusion that his path to the quarter-finals would be any easier.
"It will be a tough match. Popov will be playing on home ground, so he will definitely be more energetic, spirited and confident than usual," said Zii Jia.
Popov has shown major improvement this year where he delivered several good results, notably finishing runner-up at the Spain Masters, to Singapore's Loh Kean Yew and European Championships, to Denmark's Anders Antonsen.
It was in the continental meet where Popov picked up a landmark win against Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the semi-finals.
Popov also made his presence felt during the Indonesia Open in June by pushing world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi to the limit before losing the quarter-final battle in three games.
Zii Jia had earlier secured his progress by topping Group G after powering past world No. 62 Pablo Abian of Spain 21-10, 21-13.
"He (Abian) put pressure on me at the start, but I managed to handle it well," said Zii Jia.
"Now that I have advanced to the last-16 again, I hope this year will bring better results for me."
Zii Jia's debut in Tokyo three years ago ended in the last-16 after he was beaten by eventual silver medallist Chen Long of China.