Defending champion Lee Zii Jia bounced from Badminton Asia Championships 2023 in opening round loss
The defending champion lost 21-19, 21-16 in his tournament opener to Ng Ka Long Angus in Dubai.
Badminton
Lee Zii Jia's hopes of defending his Badminton Asia Championships title slipped away Wednesay (26 April) as Ng Ka Long Angus defeated the Malaysian in straight games and 39 minutes. The final score was 21-19, 21-16.
It was a massive setback for the Malaysian who was the number three seed in Dubai.
Lee's 2023 season has him still looking for a BWF World Tour victory, though his last two outings at the All England Open and Swiss Open saw him make it all the way to the semi-finals.
Competition at the 2023 Asia Championships in Dubai continues through 30 April and Ng will take on Japan's Tsuneyama Kanta in the round of 16.
In the opening game, Lee seemed to take control, racing to a 7-2 lead. But, Ng refused to go away, pulling ahead at 15-13. With game point in hand at 20-17, Lee fought off one game point before Ng grabbed the first at 21-19.
The second game started as a close affair at six-all before Ng raced to a 10-6 and then to a 14-10 lead. Lee couldn't seem to find his footing as he soon faced some six game points at 20-14. Lee fought valiently, holding off two game points until Ng took the second game at 21-16.
Lee was looking to defend his 2022 title, where he took the gold medal in Manila, Philippines. During that Asian Championships, he lost only one game – his very first against the People’s Republic of China’s Sun Feixiang.
From there, he cruised to the title including a 21-17, 23-21 victory of Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the final.
Earlier in the day, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew defeated India's Lakshya Sen (21-7, 23-21), while Malaysia's Ng Tze Yong fell to Hong Kong China's Lee Cheuk Yiu (21-17, 21-18).