Vantaa:Malaysia's professional men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia stunned second seed Christo Popov 21-11, 21-16 to advance to the 2026 Arctic Open semi-finals.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Zii Jia took 38 minutes to defeat the world No. 2 Frenchman in the quarter-finals of the Super 500 tournament at Energia Areena. This victory extended his unbeaten record against Popov to three matches since their first encounter in the 2022 German Open.

The world No. 56 and 2024 Paris Olympic Games bronze medallist will next face either China's Hu Zhe An or Denmark's fourth-seeded Anders Antonsen. The Arctic Open, which offers a total prize money of US$500,000 (about RM2.04 million), runs until Sunday.