HANGZHOU, Sept 28 — The men’s badminton team suffered a disappointing first round exit in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games after going down 1-3 to South Korea at the Binjiang Gymnasium, here tonight.

The first round defeat to the Koreans was a bitter pill to swallow for fans back home.

National number one Lee Zii Jia, ranked 16th in the world, lost 14-21, 21-14, 18-21 in three sets to Jeon Hyeok Jin, ranked 47th in the world.

Men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, levelled the tie at 1-1 with a convincing straight sets victory over Seo Seung Jae-Kang Min Hyuk 21-17, 21-9 but their gallant effort could not prevent the Malaysian team’s exit since the normally reliable Ng Tze Yong, ranked among the top 20 in the world was totally outplayed by a player ranked 119th, Lee Yun Gyu who triumphed 21-11, 21-16.

Boosted by the result, South Korea’s second men’s doubles pair Kim Won Ho-Na Sung Seung simply overpowered Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-16, 21-18 in straight sets to walk out with a 3-1 victory and earn a spot in the quarterfinals.

As medal hopes had already evaporated in the team event, the players will now start focusing on the individual events that are expected to start on Monday. — Bernama