PETALING JAYA: It was a day of mixed fortunes for Malaysia’s men’s singles in the China Masters when Leong Jun Hao progressed but Lee Zii Jia was forced to retire in the first round.
Jun Hao pulled off an impressive 21-19, 5-21, 21-10 win over Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting at the Shenzhen Arena yesterday.
The world No. 22 did well to regroup quickly after losing the second game tamely to win in 54 minutes.
It was Jun Hao’s second victory over Anthony in four meetings after also beating him in the Singapore Open last year.
The 26-year-old though faces a tough test next against world No. 4 home star Li Shifeng.
Jun Hao lost to Shifeng narrowly in the Hong Kong Open quarter-finals last week and the latter went on to capture the title.
The Malaysian is now out to defy the odds this time and exact revenge.
“I played more patiently against Anthony. He is not an easy opponent,” said Jun Hao in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“The draught was also quite strong and Anthony is experienced when it comes to stealing points. I focused on my strategy and it worked well. In the second game, he was leading far, so I decided to give up on the game and fully focus on the third game
“For sure, it’s a chance for me to gain revenge against Shifeng, so I will prepare well for the match,” added Jun Hao.
Zii Jia suffered a blow after he was forced to retire while trailing 6-14 in the third game against Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi.
The 27-year-old started well when he took the first game 21-17 and even had an opportunity to wrap up the match in straight games when he led 20-19 in the second game but could not take his chance and lost 21-23.
Zii Jia struggled with his movement as the third game progressed, appearing to pick up an injury before being forced to retire.
It was another setback for the Paris Olympics bronze medallist, who was only playing in his third tournament since returning from an ankle injury last month.
Zii Jia also suffered first-round exits in the World Championships in Paris and the Hong Kong Open.
The independent player’s latest exit raises fears that he could be set for another long spell on the sidelines after his ankle issue had ruled him out of competitions for five months.
