Lee Zii Jia’s comeback win will have to wait for another day as the Malaysian lost to his countryman Leong Jun Hao in the first round of badminton‘s Hong Kong Open 2025 on Wednesday (10 September).
Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Lee was bounced 21-16, 21-16 in 40 minutes. He suffered his first career defeat to Leong in their fourth career meeting.
Lee never led the entire match. The closest he got was in the second game when he laced together four consecutive points to make it 11-11, but Leong recovered with four straight points of his own and never looked back.
Lee only made his return to the court from an ankle injury at last month’s BWF World Championships, having been shelved since the All England Open in March.
The 27-year-old is penciled in for the China Masters in Shenzen next week.