Denmark Open: Zii Jia falls to unseeded Yu Qi in final

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's professional men's singles ace, Lee Zii Jia faltered in his bid to claim his maiden Denmark Open title after losing to China's Shi Yu Qi in Odense, early today.

Fourth seed Zii Jia got off to a shaky start but managed to secure a three-point margin lead at 9-5 before the unseeded Chinese shuttler fought his way back to take the opening game, 21-18, in the final match at Jyske Bank Arena.

Zii Jia managed to rediscover his form, enjoying a handsome 7-1 lead and continuously raised his game with a series of ferocious cross-court smashes to force the match into a decider with 21-16 win.

Yu Qi, 26, was unstoppable in the last game as he raced to a commanding score of 11-5, while a series of unforced errors proved costly for world number three Zii Jia, and the Chinese player finally walked out of the court as tournament champion, winning 21-12.

This is Yu Qi's first title win in three years after last winning the 2019 Swiss Open 2019 by beating B. Sai Praneeth of India, 19-21, 21-18, 21-12.

In the post-match interview, Zii Jia accepted the defeat with grace and vowed to come back stronger in the upcoming 2022 French Open in Paris, France which kicks off this Tuesday (Oct 25) to Oct 30.

"At least I have tried my best today and this is the result that I had to accept. I got two more tournaments after this, and hopefully I can maintain my current performance," he said.

Meanwhile, national shuttler Leong Jun Hao won his first world title after he prevailed against professional player, Cheam June Wei in an all-Malaysian final at the Indonesian Masters in Malang.

Jun Hao had to work hard for his win, taking an hour and seven minutes and coming from behind to beat June Wei, 9-21, 22-20, 21-19 to win the Super 100 event.

-- BERNAMA