HeavyWeight loses in first round

Glasgow (Scotland), Aug. 22: Badminton great Lee Chong Wei saved two match points against Brice Leverdez of France but not a third as he was upset in the first round of the World Badminton championships here on Tuesday.

The Malaysian star fell 19-21, 24-22, 17-21 for the first time losing in the opening round in 10 Worlds, and to a non-seed.

“I put more pressure on myself and made a lot of mistakes,” Wei said.

Runner-up at three Worlds and both Olympics since 2011, Wei put off retirement after the Rio Olympics to try and win an elusive World championship. He even lured back his old coach, Misbun Sidek, in July after a six-year separation to work on his mental side. Sidek guided him to No.1 in the world for the first time in 2006.

But Wei looked nervous and was outplayed at the net for much of the 75minute match with Leverdez, against whom he had a 7-1 record.

Wei led 19-18 in the first game but lost it with three consecutive unforced errors.

In the second, he came from 18-13 down to lead 20-18. Leverdez levelled, then had two match points and thought he won the second. But Wei challenged the “out” call against him on the line at the umpire’s feet, and was saved by video replay which showed the shuttle was in by a millimetre. Wei had momentum in the third game, and won a rally including a shot between his legs from the baseline. But he couldn’t shrug off the unfazed Leverdez, who went ahead on three unforced errors by Wei and finished off the second seed with another smash at the net.

“I told myself, ‘Play your game, talk to yourself on court, and it will be fine.’ And it happened,” Leverdez said.