BWF French Open 2023: Lee Zii Jia bows out as Carolina Marin marches into quarter-finals
The Malaysian star lost in three games to Asian Games men's singles champion Li Shifeng. Rio 2016 gold medallist Marin saw off Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia.
Badminton
Malaysia's badminton star Lee Zii Jia suffered a defeat against Li Shifeng of the People's Republic of China in the round of 16 at the BWF French Open 2023 on Thursday (26 October).
The exit is a setback for Lee, who was aiming to continue the momentum after reaching two finals in a row on the BWF Tour.
It started well for the Malaysian shuttler, who - after a tight opening to the first game - found his rhythm and scored five consecutive points to take a 14-7 lead.
Li, the reigning All England champion, did not give up and managed to narrow Lee's advantage to just one point at 17-16.
However, the Malaysian kept his composure and stayed in front to wrap up the first game 21-17.
In the second game, Lee struggled to find his range, often sending the shuttle long.
Taking advantage of this, Li led 11-9 at the mid-game interval. He then went on a streak, securing five successive points and convincingly taking the second game 21-11
Lee seemed determined at the start of the decider, taking a 6-1 lead.
However, the Malaysian star eventually squandered his advantage, allowing Li to edge in front 10-11 at the break.
Seemingly demoralised, Lee ceded the initiative to his opponent after the interval, and Li easily secured the third game 21-12 to advance in Rennes.
In the quarter-finals, the 2022 Asian Games winner will face world No.2 Anthony Ginting.
Meanwhile, in women's singles, 2016 Olympic champion Carolina Marin defeated Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in straight games, 21-16, 21-18. The three-time world champion is now set to face wolrd No. 19 Ohori Aya of Japan in the next round.
The BWF French Open 2023 is a Super 750 event with qualifying points for the Paris 2024 Olympics on offer. The tournament concludes on Sunday 29 October, with daily coverage live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app (territorial restrictions apply).