KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 8 Lee Zii Jia has vowed to overcome the fatigue setting in as he heads to the Paris Olympics next month.
The 26-year-old continued his march at Quaycentre in Sydney by defeating compatriot Soong Joo Ven 21-18, 21-14 yesterday.
This marks Zii Jia's third meeting against his former senior in the national team, maintaining his 100 per cent record.
Next, he will face Japan's seventh seed Kenta Nishimoto for a place in the semi-finals.
Zii Jia, a tournament semi-finalist last year, acknowledged the significant challenge of sustaining his performance due to exhaustion.
The Australian Open is Zii Jia's fourth tournament in five weeks, a period during which he won the Thailand Open and finished as the runner-up at the Malaysia Masters.
He skipped the Singapore Open due to a hamstring issue but returned at the Indonesia Open last week, advancing to the quarter-finals.
"To be honest, I'm quite tired both mentally and physically. It's my fourth tournament already, and everyone can see that my gameplay is slowing down," Zii Jia told the Badminton World Federation in a post-match interview.
"But the good thing is that I've been consistently making it to the quarter-finals."
Despite his fatigue, Zii Jia refuses to make excuses, noting that other players are facing similar challenges.
"It's a challenge I have to overcome. Everyone's facing a similar situation. Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan, for instance, is playing in his fifth successive tournament."
Against Nishimoto, Zii Jia has played down his favorite tag, despite winning eight out of their 11 encounters, including a dominant 21-13, 21-3 victory during the Thomas Cup in Chengdu.
"It will be a tough game against Kenta. The shuttle speed is slow in the arena, so the advantage will be on Kenta as he's more of a defensive player," said Zii Jia.
"I'll need to ready myself for many long rallies. At this juncture, it's not so much about bringing specific strategies to the court. It's all about mental resilience. I've got to tell myself to keep going and going."
In the women's singles, Malaysia's challenge ended with the elimination of K. Letshanaa. Her hopes of making her maiden Super 500 quarter-finals were dashed after she was beaten 21-14, 21-18 by Taiwan's Pai Yu Po.
