By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.
Lee Chong Wei flicks a shot away from Andrew Smith. (Photo 1 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, June 10, 2009 – Top seed Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia swept aside England’s ace Andrew Smith 2-0 (21-11, 21-12) in the first round of the Singapore Badminton Open.
The world number one did not seem to have much difficulty overcoming the Englishman as he overcame the latter with many well placed shots.
Lee Chong Wei had said before the tournament that he was aiming to win this circuit in memory of his former coach Indra Gunawan, who passed away some time back.
Gunawan, who was once in charge of Malaysia’s men's singles squad, passed away before Lee could meet him again at the upcoming Indonesia Open.
Smith scored the first few points and gave the Malaysian ace quite a bit of a scare when he held a two-point lead.
Smith could only give Lee a close fight in the start of each set, but the Malaysian won both the first and second sets with ease.
Lee Chong Wei will now meet Vietnam’s Tien Minh Nguyen in the next round.
Tien Minh beat Sho Sasaki of Japan 2-1 (18-21, 21-19, 21-9) earlier on.
Lee has been competing for half a year without the assistance of current coach Misbun Sidek, who stayed behind in Malaysia to care for his ailing wife. Lee has also been receiving harsh criticisms about his performance for the past two years.
But with arch rival Lin Dan and Taufik Hidayat missing this tournament, Lee might just be on track to retain the crown for the second year running.
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Lee returning a shot. (Photo 2 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
The 2008 semi-finalist had trouble keeping up with Lee in the second half of the sets. (Photo 3 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Lee goes up for a smash. (Photo 4 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Lee going for a shot. (Photo 5 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Smiles from both players as they shake hands after the game. (Photo 6 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
More pictures in the gallery.
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