BWF Japan Open 2023: Lee Zii Jia, Loh Kean Yew out in first round; Jonatan Christie eases through
Lee's bumpy season continues with a tough three-game loss to Nishimoto Kenta, while Loh suffers a surprise elimination by rising Malaysian Ng Tze Yong.
Badminton
Lee Zii Jia is out at the first hurdle of a badminton tournament again as the Malaysian saw his BWF Japan Open 2023 campaign end in Tokyo on Wednesday (26 July).
In his second competition since returning from a self-enforced month-long break during which his world ranking has dropped to 18th, Lee battled hard but was eventually taken out by Japan's Nishimoto Kenta after a one-hour, 29-minute marathon.
All three games in the match were tight affairs, with Lee even taking the opener before Nishimoto fought back to secure a narrow 20-22, 21-17, 21-19 victory.
It comes after Lee's first-round exit to Ng Ka Long Angus at last week's Korea Open, and proves just how much work Lee and new coach Wong Tat Meng have ahead of them.
The Malaysian is in danger of losing his spot as the top men's singles player from his country, as Ng Tze Yong is now just three spots behind him in the world rankings.
Ng scored a huge win over Singapore's Loh Kean Yew with a 21-16, 21-17 win, making up for a very close loss he suffered at Loh's hands last week at the Korea Open.
While it is still early in the official Olympic Games Paris 2024 qualification ranking period, Ng is already well ahead of Lee in the BWF Race to Paris qualification rankings and would be selected ahead of his compatriot if Lee does not manage to turn his form around between now and the end of qualifying on 28 April next year.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's Jonatan Christie needed just 28 minutes to breeze into the second round in Tokyo.
The fifth seed barely gave Malaysian opponent Cheam June Wei a look in as he sealed a 21-7, 21-9 triumph to set up a second-round clash against People's Republic of China shuttler Weng Hong Yang.