Hong Kong's Ng Wei suffered a heartbreaking second-round loss in the men's singles at the US$250,000 Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open after going down to China's fast-rising Li Yu, despite holding six match points last night.
The world number 10 from Sha Tin failed to close out the match-winner and eventually succumbed to the tough Li at Queen Elizabeth Stadium for one of the biggest upsets of the day.
Li, the recent gold medal winner at the National Games, proved his worth as he won the 110-minute encounter with a come-from-behind 10-15, 17-16, 15-9 upset victory.
'I am very disappointed,' said Ng, who was hoping to reach at least the quarter-finals of the six-star tournament. 'I had my chances to win the match, but I wasn't very decisive in my shot making. When I lost that close second game, it affected me and my mind wasn't on the job anymore.'
Ng knew he had a big task against the talented Li who is set to go places and he looked a true fighter on court as he traded deceptive smashes and drop shots with his more heralded opponent.
Ng held his first match point when he led 14-12 in the second game, but just couldn't finish off his opponent. Li eventually won the game at 17-16 and looked stronger than ever in the deciding game as Ng's resistance petered out.
