Paris: World No 2 Lee Zii Jia crashed out in the first round of French Open badminton championship after losing 19-21, 18-21 to Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito, here on Wednesday.
It was the ninth meeting between the two, with Rhustavito now having won five of those matches.
The Malaysian star Zii Jia never found his rhythm against the world number 24, and it was all over after just 44 minutes.
It was an unexpected setback for the 24-year-old, who is now the new world number two behind leader Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) in the latest rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Monday.
Danish Olympic and world champion Axelsen opened his French Open campaign on Tuesday with a 21-11, 22-20 win over Japan’s Nishimoto Kenta to set up a meeting with Sitthikom Thammasin (Thailand).
–IANS
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