BWF China Open 2023: Lee Zii Jia crashes out of first round
The Malaysian star was beaten by Japan's Naraoka Kodai in a three-set thriller at the China Open badminton, while Tsuneyama Kanta was too good for Anthony Ginting.
Badminton
Malaysian badminton ace Lee Zii Jia suffered his fifth first-round defeat of the season at the BWF China Open on Wednesday, 6 September, going down 26-24, 12-21, 21-11 in the men's singles to Japan's Naraoka Kodai.
The match began at a frenetic pace, with the lead exchanging hands several times before No.4 seed Naraoka eventually held his nerve on the eighth game point to take a 1-0 lead.
This kicked Lee into action, who showed glimpses of his best form to dominate the second game and level proceedings in Changzhou.
However, the World No. 14 seemed to suffer from fatigue in the third, allowing reigning world silver medallist Naraoka to wrap up the match with superior accuracy.
Naraoka progresses to Round 2, while Lee will begin preparations for next week's Hong Kong Open.
Elsewhere, there was further cause for Japanese celebrations when Naraoka's compatriot Tsuneyama Kanta secured a shock 21-11, 18-21, 21-17 victory over No. 2 seed Anthony Ginting.
The Indonesian looked out of sorts, after surrendering the first game without too much fight before coming from behind and requiring three game points to seal a nervy second.
Ginting raced to an early lead in the third in what looked to be a resurgence, but Tsuneyama showed his class to retake the lead and close out the match.
The Japanese' prize is a Round 2 clash against Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong.
Later today, Malaysian men's doubles fourth seeds Chia Aaron and Soh Wooi Yik will be in action against Republic of Korea's Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho.
BWF China Open 2023 How to watch on TV and livestream online
You can watch the badminton China Open 2023 on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com (territorial restrictions may apply).
It will also be available on the BWF TV YouTube channel and on various domestic television broadcasters (Astro in Malaysia). Check local listings for details.
If you are unable to find a screen to watch the matches, look out for Olympics.com's reports on the results and best of the action from the event.