Top seeds Lee Chong Wei and Zhou Mi crash out

Hyderabad, Aug 14 (PTI) In a day marked by a series upsets, top seeds
Malaysian Lee Chong Wei and Zhou Mi of Hong Kong crashed out of the world
badminton championship after suffering contrasting defeats in the men's and
women's singles event here today.
World number one Lee failed to live upto the expectation as Indonesian
Sony Dwi Kuncoro produced the biggest upset of the tournament, dispatching
the Malaysian 21-16 14-21 21-12 in an hour hard-fought battle.
"I just couldn't play well today. I had pulled things back in the second game but I don't know what happened in the second game," Lee said.
"Sony is no ordinary player, he has beaten me before and he raised his bar today. I wasn't under any pressure nor I had any problem with the conditions," he added.
Sony, on the other hand, said he kept attacking and played a brave match
against his rival which paid dividends at the end.
"I have beaten this guy before. I didn't worry before the match. In the first game, I played a brave match. My stretegy was to attack. I knew that if I slowed down the game, Lee would beat me. I played smart whenever I got a chance I attack.
"In the second game, I was mentally down and that's why i lost. I guess
my biggest opponent is me myself," he said.
While, Sony scripted Lee's downfall, in the women's singles Chinese
Xingfang Xie proved too could for the world number one Zhou. She beat her 21
-15 21-18 in a match that lasted for 47 minutes.
"It was a very close match even though the scoreline might suggest
otherwise. I was more patient then Zhou especially in the second game when we
both were 18-all, I held my nerves and didn't commit any mistake," Xingfang
said after the match. PTI ATK