KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia crashed out of the second round of the 2022 Malaysia Open badminton tournament today after losing to unseeded Indonesian Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.
Playing before more than 5,000 supporters at the Axiata Arena, the world No 5 Zii Jia was given an early warning of the threat faced as the 28-year-old Indonesian took the first game 21-19.
Zii Jia, 24, came back with a 21-19 win in the second game but lost 16-21 in the decider to concede the match which lasted more than an hour.
The win enabled Rhustavito to level the score at 4-4 in his head-to-head clashes with the 2021 All England champion. The Indonesian last beat Zii Jia at the 2019 Taiwan Open but lost to him at the Asian championship and Thailand Open this year.
Rhustavito’s win has denied fans a mouth-watering quarterfinal clash between Zii Jia and Japan’s Kento Momota tomorrow.