Down and out: Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong falls after failing to return the shot to Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the second round.
THE unthinkable has happened. Hot favourite Lee Zii Jia was stunned by Indonesian Shesar Hiren in front of the home fans at the Axiata Arena yesterday.
The 8,000 fans had expected a winning script but it was Shesar who took advantage of Zii Jia’s unusually subdued performance to register a 21-19, 19-21, 21-16 win in 66 minutes.
Draught continued to cause havoc for Zii Jia and it turned out to be the spoiler in the first game as Shesar won 21-19. The world No. 5 came charging back to win the second game with the same scoreline to force a decider. But it was not Zii Jia’s day as he went down 16-21.
Things have not been going Zii Jia’s way since he withdrew from the Commonwealth Games 10 days ago, causing a public debate over his decision.
Yesterday, he never looked comfortable in the match but accepted the inevitable. He’s adamant that he will move on after his quest for a first Malaysian Open crown ended.
“This defeat is not going to demoralise me. I know the level I am at the moment and it’s how I’m going to maintain that level,” said Zii Jia.
“No regrets for me. I have to accept this result. Once I decide to compete in the tournament, I go all out but there are many aspects that I need to improve on.
“My matches with Shesar have always been close and he played very well today (yesterday). So, I consider him as a tough opponent,” said Zii Jia whose head-to-head record currently stands at 4-4 with Shesar.
Shesar is expected to give second seed Kento Momota of Japan a run for his money in the last eight today.
Momota was also given a fright by Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong before securing a 11-21, 21-8, 21-18 victory in the second round.
Shesar was pleased to have beaten Zii Jia in front of the home fans.
“I wasn’t thinking too much about the home crowd and just focused on my performance and feel very happy to beat him,” said Shesar.
“I was making mistakes towards the end of the second game but managed to overcome them in the third and will give my best in the quarter-final tomorrow.”
Top seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark was also forced to come back from a game down before advancing.
The world No. 1 did not allow the draught to derail him in his 15-21, 21-6, 21-13 win over Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu.
Cheuk Yiu, one of the players who got an invite to join Axelsen’s training camp in Dubai, looked poised to secure a shocking upset but the Dane demonstrated his steadfastness to turn the game around for a quarter-final berth against Anthony Ginting of Indonesia. “I came out a little bit slow in the first game and Lee controlled the draught really well. He’s a tough player and it’s a good win for me.
“The drift in the stadium wasn’t as bad as it was on Tuesday but it was still a challenge.
“I managed to handle it well in the third game.
“I played Ginting in Indonesia (Masters final) and it is going to be another tough game tomorrow (today).”
