Zii Jia fell 19-21, 18-21 to unseeded Indonesian Shesar Hiren Rhustavito. – Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 26): National badminton men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia crashed out in the opening round of the French Open when he fell 19-21, 18-21 to unseeded Indonesian Shesar Hiren Rhustavito today.
The Indonesian needed just 44 minutes to subdue the third-seeded Zii Jia at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin in Paris.
In tomorrow’s second round, world number 24 Rhustavito will take on Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, who ousted Canadian Brian Yang 21-15, 21-18 in the opening round.
On Sunday (Oct 23), Zii Jia finished runner-up in the Denmark Open after going down 18-21, 21-16, 12-21 to China’s Shi Yuqi.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Zii Jia managed to move one rung up the world ranking to the number two spot based on the latest ranking list issued by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) today.
Zii Jia moved one place from third spot after accumulating 92,528 points while reigning world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark retained his top spot with 122,606 points, with another Dane, Anders Antonsen at world number three with 87,400 points.
Meanwhile, world men’s doubles champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik also suffered the same fate as teammate Zii Jia when they fell 13-21, 14-21 to China’s Wei Keng Liang-Chang Wang in a 31-minute battle.
In mixed doubles, the partnership of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai found themselves no match for Indonesians Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Lisa Ayu Kusumawati, going down 14-21, 10-21.
In women’s doubles, Scottish pair Julie Macpherson-Ciara Torrance sent Malaysians Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien packing in the first round with a hard-fought 6-21, 21-13, 21-18 win in 68 minutes. – Bernama