The world’s number two badminton player, Lee Zii Jia, suffered embarrassment after a first-round exit on home ground when he was defeated 21-13, 17-21, 19-21 by Kodai Naraoka, a rising star from Japan, in the Malaysia Open at the Axiata Arena.
Even though he showed a promising performance with a 21-13 win in the first game, the seventh-ranked Japanese valiantly fought back to take the second game 21-17.
The intense and closely-fought third game saw the 21-year-old Japanese player emerge triumphant after a lengthy 72-minute battle.
Naraoka will face another Malaysian, Ng Tze Yong, in the last 16th round on January 12.
Source: FMT
