PETALING JAYA: Men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia has lost to India's Lakshya Sen in the opening round of the China Masters in Shenzhen.
World No. 17 Lakshya sent World No. 7 Zii Jia packing with a 21-14, 13-21, 21-13 scoreline at the Shenzhen Gymnasium.
This is Zii Jia's fifth defeat in seven encounters with Lakshya.
Zii Jia is in danger of missing out on the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou as other shuttlers ranked below him might catch up.
Currently sixth in the world tour rankings, Zii Jia needs to stay in the top seven to qualify.
However, Japan's Koki Watanabe is close behind in seventh and if he goes far in the tournament, Zii Jia could be knocked out of contention.
Meanwhile, mixed doubles duo Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien took down Algeria's Koceila Mammeri-Taina Mammeri 21-15, 21-13 to set up a second round fixture with third seed Hong Kong pair Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet.
Also advancing was mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin, who made it through after winning 21-17, 21-12 against Taiwan's Liu Kuang-heng-Jheng Yu-chieh and will meet second seed Chinese pair Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin next.
Zhenbang-Yaxin earned their way into the second round after defeating world No. 18 Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing 21-18, 21-11.
