LEE Cheuk Yiu Upsets World No.7 TIAN Houwei in Men’s Singles First Round

After Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet eliminated Korean’s world No.1 pair, the second day of YONEX-SUNRISE Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships 2016 has more surprising results. 20 year-old LEE Cheuk Yiu beat TIAN Houwei of China and pushed the atmosphere of Hong Kong Coliseum to the highest level.

The result of several withdrawals from Olympics medalists, this year’s Championships are open to young players that are eager to fight for good results. Tonight LEE Cheuk Yiu really shined at home. He spent 44 minutes to eliminate Tian, the last year’s silver medalist, in 2 games, 22:20 and 21:19. Lee’s world ranking is only 89.

‘I wasn’t thinking that much on the court. I just fight for every point. It’s like David beats Goliath! However, it’s not my best performance.’ LEE enjoys the cheering from his home fans when he was losing his strength at the later stage of the match. He said he never thought of being a ‘Lin Dan Killer’ like his teammates Wong Wing Ki and Ng Ka Long. ‘I just want to be myself. I don’t really want to get famous at home court. I believe if you have the ability, success will come eventually.’ He added.

Lee turned pro 4 years ago. This is his second time playing at home. In the second round, he will face his teammate Ng Ka Long. ‘I will keep my mind clear tomorrow. If you start thinking too much, it turns out like today’s match which I have lost a few points.’ Lee was leading 20:15 and Tian narrowed the gap to 19: 20. However, Tian lost the match point by serving out of the court.

Last year’s top 4 player Ng Ka Long walked over to the next round. He was leading 21: 17, 20:22 and 17:12 when his opponent gave up the match due to injury in the third game.. The glory from last year’s success really put Ng under a lot of pressure. He was not able to take control and was behind at the beginning of each game. However, He managed to calm himself and have a great come back in the third game.

Another Hong Kong Men’s Singles player, Wong Wing Ki has an easy game and beat Lin Yu Hsin of Chinese Taipei by 21：10, 21：13. He will play against seed No.8 Rajiv Ouseph of England tomorrow. Hu Yun and Wei Nan have also been promoted to the next round.

In Women’s Singles, world No.1 Carolina Marin wins over Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand by 21：8, 21：14. She will meet Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong tomorrow. Yip avenged her lost in China Open by beating Line Kjaersfeldt of Denmark. Her teammate Cheung Ngan Yi also reaches the next round by 2:0。

YONEX-SUNRISE 2016 Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships will start at 1pm on November 24 at Hong Kong Coliseum until November 27. Tickets are now available for sale at the URBTIX website (www.urbtix.hk). For more information, please call the ticketing enquiry hotline at 3761 6661.