BWF Australian Open 2023: Lee Zii Jia misses first final of the season
Lee Zii Jia is out in Sydney after falling to China's Weng Hong Yang.
Badminton
Lee Zii Jia's winning run has ended at the BWF Australian Open 2023 in Sydney.
The Malaysian star shuttler lost in the semi-finals on Saturday (5 August) to People's Republic of China's Weng Hong Yang 21-19, 13-21, 21-13, narrowly missing his first final of the badminton season.
After outlasting his compatriot Ng Tze Yong 17-21, 26-24, 21-19 in a nail-biting 83-minute quarter-final clash**,** the 25-year-old got off to a great start racing to a 7-3 lead. He seemed in control of the first game holding a 10-7 advantage and reaching the mid-game interval one point ahead.
But then things began to change. The left-handed Weng turned up the heat leveling the score at 13-13 before storming to a 20-15 lead and closing out the first game after 24 minutes.
The unseeded Lee who had suffered four straight first-round exits prior to the Australian Open regrouped. He quickly opened up a five-point lead at 8-3. It was 11-7 at the interval.
Lee continued to play with conviction opening up a gap at 18-11 to close out the second game 21-13.
The decider was a tight affair until Weng managed to win eight points in a row to lead 14-6 and remained in the driver's seat for the rest of the game.
Weng will meet H.S. Prannoy in Sunday's title match as the Indian ousted his compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat 21-18, 21-12 in the other semi-final.
Lee still has improved his chances of securing a Paris 2024 qualifying spot with his strong showing in Sydney.
It was Lee's first semi-final appearance since the Swiss Open in March.
Check out the current BWF Olympic qualifying rankings which will be updated after this tournament.
Should both Lee and Ng finish outside the top 16, only the top-ranked Malaysian player will make it to the Paris Games.
In the women's draw, Team USA's Beiwen Zhang advanced to the final as her Thai opponent Ratchanok Intanon was forced to retire trailing 21-17,8-3.
The U.S. shuttler will meet Kim Ga-eun (Republic of Korea) in the title match as the number seven seed defeated Japan's Aya Ohori 21-10, 21-11.