Eogene Ewe knocks out Zii Jia at Korea Masters opener
The younger shuttler won 21-9, 21-19 in just 27 minutes in Asan, piling more pressure on the former national No 1.
Eogene Ewe ended Lee Zii Jia's Korea Masters campaign in the first round, winning 21-9, 21-19 in a match lasting just 27 minutes at the Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium in Asan, South Korea.
Eogene, who is seven years younger than Zii Jia, showed much superior fitness throughout the contest.
The defeat adds more pressure on the former national No 1 shuttler, who returned to the international badminton scene in January after a seven-month layoff due to an injury.
The former All England champion has only made it to the semi-final stage once this season, at the Canada Open in June, and lost in the early rounds of the other nine tournaments he played in.
Eogene, ranked 21 spots below the 54th-ranked Zii Jia, will face either Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen or Su Li Yang of Taiwan in the next round of the World Tour Super 300 championship.
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