KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia's hopes of clinching his maiden Denmark Open title went up in smoke on Sunday.
The Malaysian men's singles hotshot, who was gunning his third individual crown this season, went down 21-18, 16-21, 21-12 to China's world No 44 Shi Yuqi in the final at the Jyske Bank Arena in Odense.
For Yuqi, the title is his first in three years since coming back from a suspension by his federation this year.
For the record, only three Malaysian men's singles have won the Denmark Open title. They are the late Datuk Eddie Choong (1953), Tan Aik Huang (1967, 1968), and Lee Chong Wei (2005, 2012).
Yuqi pocketed US$52,500 (RM249,000) for coming out tops, while Zii Jia settled for US$25,500 (RM121,000).
Zii Jia's next assignment is the Super 750 French Open that starts on Tuesday.
FINAL RESULTS
Men's singles: Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt Lee Zii Jia 21-18, 16-21, 21-12;
Doubles: Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Ina) bt Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Ina) 21-19, 28-26;
Women's singles: He Bingjiao (Chn) bt Chen Yu Fei (Chn) 22-20, 12-21, 21-10; Doubles: Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan (Chn) bt Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee (Kor) 21-12, 21-15;
Mixed doubles: Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong (Chn) bt Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping (Chn) 21-19, 20-22, 21-19.