Beaten Malaysia miss Lee Chong Wei in Sudirman Cup opener
A young Malaysian side shorn of legend Lee Chong Wei battled to defeat against powerful hosts China on the opening day of the Sudirman Cup on Sunday.
Lee is one of the finest badminton players of all time but his career appears to be nearing a sad conclusion after he was diagnosed last year with early stage nose cancer.
The 36-year-old former world number one's absence is a severe blow to Malaysia's hopes of making an impact at the Sudirman Cup, the world mixed-team championships.
In his place, Lee Zii Jia, aged 21, faced China's world number two Shi Yuqi with Malaysia already trailing 2-0 to the hosts in the city of Nanning. Shi was an easy 21-12, 21-11 winner in 35 minutes and China ran out 5-0 victors in the tie.
But the Chinese, who along with top-seeded Japan are the favourites, did not have it all their own way against the brave Malaysians.
Soniia Cheah, ranked 34 in the world, pushed third-ranked Chen Yufei to three games.
The men's doubles also went to a deciding game with Li