BWF Singapore Open 2024: Jonatan Christie suffers early exit, Lee Zii Jia concedes walkover
Big names tumbled out of the first round at badminton's BWF Singapore Open 2024 on Wednesday (29 May), with third seed Jonatan Christie and world number nine Lee Zii Jia among the casualties.
World number three Christie did not look at the races at all as the Indonesian struggled heavily against Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen.
The Indonesian found himself 0-6 down in the first game before coming back to lead at 16-12, but Chou won nine of the final 10 points to close it out. But the second game proved to be a one-sided affair, Christie never finding his rhythm as Chou tallied 10 consecutive points to move from 2-3 to 12-3.
And the match ended the same way the first game did, with Chou taking nine of the last 10 points played to sail to a 21-17, 21-6 win.
Meanwhile, Lee was forced to concede a walkover to Christie's Indonesian teammate Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
The Malaysian suffered a hamstring injury at the Thailand Open, which he aggravated at last week's Malaysia Masters on home soil, a statement issued by his team said. Lee reached the final in Kuala Lumpur before losing to Viktor Axelsen while playing with the issue he worsened in his earlier semi-final win.
However, the 26-year-old has now opted to rest and recover ahead of a busy summer.
"After medical assessment, Zii Jia was advised not to participate due to hamstring injuries sustained during the Thailand Open and Malaysian Masters," the statement read. "Focus for Zii Jia's programme will now shift towards rehabilitation."
Olympic champs Axelsen and Marín progress
Axelsen, meanwhile, scraped his way through to the second round with a tough three-game win over India's Lakshya Sen. The Dane took the opening game comfortably, but Sen found a foothold in the second from 14-14, pulling away from the Olympic champion and world number one.
The Indian looked like he might pull off the upset win in the decider, but Axelsen managed to string together eight points in a row to regain the upper hand before closing out the one-hour, two-minute marathon 21-13, 16-21, 21-13.
In the women's draw, third seed Carolina Marín was made to work hard by Malaysia's Goh Jin Wei but secured her progress to the last 16.
The 2016 Olympic champion faced down three game points in the first, taking the last five points on the bounce. The second game was equally close but the Spaniard eventually held out for a 22-20, 21-18 victory.
That sets up a tasty second-round match with her old friend and rival P.V. Sindhu in a repeat of the Rio 2016 Olympic final.