[UPDATED] French Open: Zii Jia crashes out in opening round

KUALA LUMPUR – National men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia suffered an early exit in the opening round of the 2022 French Open today, days after admitting to regaining his form when he reached the Denmark Open final last Sunday.

Zii Jia, who climbed one spot to number two in the Badminton World Federation’s world rankings yesterday, suffered defeat at the hands of Indonesian Shesar Hiren Rhustavito in straight sets – 21-19, 21-18, in 44 minutes.

The Kedah-born shuttler also lost to the world number 24 when they last met at the Malaysian Open second round in June.

“I could not get going. I made a lot of unforced errors, and I was not patient. This year has been quite tough and although I’m world number 2 now, I’m not satisfied with what I am.

“I’m still working on my weaknesses. There are parts of my game I need to be better at to go higher,” Zii Jia was speaking to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) after his match at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin in Paris.

Zii Jia has not gone past the French Open first round since his first participation in the tournament in 2019.

While Shesar will meet Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the second round tomorrow, Zii Jia’s next tournament will be the Hylo Open in Germany from November 1 to 6. – The Vibes, October 26, 2022