NATIONAL No 1 Lee Zii Jia, who checked into the Swiss Open semi-finals, is slowly but surely regaining his form. the national player was at his best when he downed India’s B. Sai Praneeth 21-14, 21-17 in the quarter-finals at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel yesterday.

He has improved since slipped down to No 11 in the world ranking following a few underwhelming performances during the BWF Asian tour in Bangkok in January

It was also a fruitful outing for mixed doubles Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing who are in their first tournament as an independent pair.

World No 13, who parted ways with the Badminton Association of Malaysia last month, came through a tough challenge by beating India’s world No. 19 S. Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa 21-17, 16-21, 21-18.

Kian Meng-Pei Jing, vying for a spot in the Tokyo Olympics, go on to meet French pair Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrus in the semi-finals.