Taiwan shuttler Lee Chia-hao loses in final of 2024 Korea Open

Taipei, Sept. 1 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton player Lee Chia-hao (李佳豪) clinched a silver medal after losing to his Chinese opponent in the men's singles final at the 2024 Korea Open on Sunday.

Lee was defeated by China's Lu Guangzu (陸光祖) 16-21, 22-20, 18-21 in a hard-fought match that lasted 68 minutes.

Lee, currently world No. 30, and world No. 13 Lu had played four times before Sunday's match, with the Taiwanese player never winning.

During the match on Sunday, Lee and Lu were tied at 3-3 in the first game before Lu capitalized on his opponent's mistakes to increase his lead, finally winning the first game 21-16.

Lu took a commanding 6-0 lead at the start of the second game at which point Lee took a medical timeout for treatment on his right shoulder. After a short break he took a further technical turnout while trailing 4-11.

After adjusting his strategy Lee successfully refocused and came from behind to tie the game at 19-19, before winning three of the next four points and taking the second game.

In the crucial third game, although Lee trailed 4-9 at one point, he then scored 5 points in a row to tie the game at 9-9.

The match then became a matter of attrition, with the two players inseparable at 14-14. It was then that errors by Lee enabled Lu to win three consecutive points, which gave him breathing space and established a solid foundation for a last push to victory.

The Korea Open has been one of the seven BWF World Tour Super 500 events in the BWF events structure since 2018.

The 2024 BWF Korea Open took place in the city of Mokpo from Aug. 27 to Sept. 1.