Malaysia’s only representative in the main draw of the men’s singles suffered a premature exit at the Malaysia Open, with Zulfadli Zulkifli being knocked out in the first round of the competition.
Zulfadli was the only Malaysian to have survived the qualifying rounds, though he was demolished by China’s Tian Houwei in merely 33 minutes; losing 21-5, 21-7 at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
This defeat marks Malaysia’s worst performance in singles category at the Malaysia Open, having had Datuk Lee Chong Wei dominate the competition over the last 10 years, before he was suspended due to a doping scandal last year.
“I did not play well today. Maybe I was tired from yesterday’s matches even though I won easily in straight sets but the games were rather long,” Zulfadli was quoted as saying by Bernama.
“May be I used up too much energy yesterday.”
“I was the country’s sole hope. Malaysians have been depending on Datuk Lee Chong Wei but he is not around. I apologise to all local badminton fans.” he added.
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