KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia squandered a golden opportunity to close the gap on national No. 1 Leong Jun Hao after crashing out in the first qualifying round of the Kumamoto Masters Japan on Tuesday.
The world No. 40 suffered a disappointing 21-15, 21-10 defeat to Japan's world No. 48 Minoru Koga, ending his Super 500 campaign before he could even reach the main draw.
The early exit was particularly costly as Jun Hao, ranked eight places above Zii Jia at No. 32, had withdrawn from the tournament to focus on next week's Hong Kong Open.
It presented Zii Jia with a valuable opportunity to narrow the gap on his compatriot in the world rankings and strengthen his bid to reclaim the national No. 1 spot.
