Eogene knocks out Zii Jia at Korea Masters opener

 Eogene Ewe won 21-9, 21-19 to book a second-round berth at the World Tour Super 300 event.

Eogene Ewe, who is seven years younger than Lee Zii Jia, displayed much superior fitness and won in 27 minutes. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

National men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia suffered his seventh first-round exit this year at the Korea Masters, losing to his younger compatriot, Eogene Ewe.

Eogene, who is seven years younger than Zii Jia, showed much superior fitness to win 21-9, 21-19 in a match lasting 27 minutes at the Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium in Asan, South Korea.

Zii Jia’s defeat adds more pressure on the former national No 1 shuttler, who returned to the international badminton scene in January after a seven-month layoff due to an injury.

The former All England champion has only made it to the semi-final stage once this season, at the Canada Open in June, and lost in early rounds in the other nine tournaments he played in.

Eogene, ranked 21 spots below the 54th-ranked Zii Jia, will face either Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen or Su Li Yang from Taiwan in the next round of the World Tour Super 300 championship. - FMT