Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk-yiu produces another upset win over No 3 seed Anders Antonsen at French Open
- Lee – who reached the semi-finals at last week’s Denmark Open – overcomes Anders Antonsen in straight games in Paris
- After reaching a career-high ranking of No 14, another clash looms against his Hong Kong teammate Angus Ng Ka-long
Lee Cheuk-yiu reached a career-high No 14 ranking after continuing his fine form in Europe with another upset victory over Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the French Open on Tuesday night.
After reaching the semi-finals at last week’s Denmark Open, where he lost to Tokyo Olympic champion and home hope Viktor Axelsen, Lee kicked off his Paris run with a bang, securing a 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) win over the third seed in the opening round.
“[Lee] did a lot of hard work in preparation for the final qualification for the Tokyo Olympics, but unfortunately most of the qualifiers were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” badminton head coach Tim He Yi-ming said.
“He then took part in the China National Games where Lee encountered a lot of tough opponents before travelling to Europe when the world tour reopened. So, he has been in a good condition, physically and mentally.
“Te results in Denmark have also helped, and it seems he has picked up his form and confidence again after missing the Olympic qualifiers. Lee is a fighter and always produces results against players of higher ranking.
“The French Open is another major event leading to the World Tour finals in early December and we’ll see how he performs in Paris and the two following tournaments, when the tour comes back to Asia next month.”