KUALA LUMPUR: 2016 Rio Olympic Games gold medalist, Chen Long of China has admitted he is devastated with his horrible start to the new season when he was surprisingly shown the exit in the very first round of the Malaysian Masters earlier today.
The men’s singles star from China was left to wonder what happened after he fell to Indonesian, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, 21-17, 21-15, at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil .
For Chen Long, it is not the start the he had expected for his first tournament of the year furthermore when he has emerged champion before on Malaysian courts.
“Yes I am very disappointed because of course I was hoping for positive results and outcome for my first tournament of the new year. However I failed to perform up to expectations today, apart from my dissatisfaction with some of the umpire’s calls during the match.
“Throughout my years of playing competitive badminton at the highest level, I have never had a short service disqualified. The umpire’s decision disrupted my overall playing rhythm today,” said Chen Long who won the 2015 Malaysia Open.
Meanwhile, Anthony said that Chen Long did not play at his best so it made it easier for him to execute attacking moves to collect point after point.
“This is not my first victory over Chen Long because we have met twice before this and my record against him stands at 1-1. So I was confident in being able to snatch victory today,” said Anthony.
In other matches, South Korean fourth seed, Son Wan Ho was also bundled in the first round when he lost to Malaysia’s very own Liew Daren, 21-15, 21-13.
“I am happy and did not expect this win. It is anything but easy to defeat Wan Ho, but perhaps this is the first match for him and he probably had difficulty getting used to the court and the surroundings, whereas I have played two matches in the qualifying round,” said Daren who won the 2012 French Open while he was a BA of Malaysia (BAM) player.