World No. 3 men’s badminton player Lee Zii Jia from Malaysia was handed a shocking early elimination at the VICTOR China Open 2024, held at Xincheng Gymnasium, Changzhou.
Facing Japan’s Koki Watanabe, ranked 14th in the world, Lee suffered a straight-sets defeat, losing 15-21, 2-21 in just 29 minutes.
The first set began promisingly for Zii Jia, who surged to a 7-0 lead. However, Watanabe mounted a swift comeback, taking control of the match and eventually winning the set 21-15.
In the second set, Zii Jia struggled to regain momentum, falling behind 0-11 at the mid-game interval. Watanabe capitalized on the situation, closing out the set with a dominant 21-2 victory.
This result advances Koki Watanabe to the second round, where he will face Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei.
Credit Photo : BAT
