KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 16 Lee Zii Jia suffered a heart-breaking Asian Games quarter-final exit as he went down fighting to H.S. Prannoy 21-16, 21-23, 22-20 in an epic battle that lasted 78 minutes on Thursday.
Leading 20-18, the 25-year-old was on the verge of a victory that could have ended Malaysia's wait for a medal since the 2014 edition, but it was world No. 7 Prannoy who had the last laugh.
To Zii Jia's credit, he too pulled off an identical fightback when he overturned a 20-18 deficit in the second game to force a rubber game.
Prannoy's hard-fought victory showed that he managed to shrug off a back injury fear, which sidelined him from the men's team final with China last Sunday.
In his absence, India lost 3-2.
Earlier in the day, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei were also eliminated in the mixed doubles quarter-finals after losing 21-14, 23-21 to top seeds and defending champions Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong.