China's Wang joins exodus in Shanghai

WORLD'S top ranked Wang Yihan of China joined the surprise exodus from the China Open in Shanghai yesterday, losing to Malaysia's Wong Mew Choo 18-21, 17-21 in the second round yesterday.

On Wednesday, top seed and men's world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei cited fatigue for his shock first round exit.

Wang opened the first set 5-1 and maintained the advantage at 11-6. But Malaysia's Wong seemed to hit top form after calling for a technical time-out, to level the score at 14-14.

Wang committed errors to hand the first game to her rejuvenated rival 18-21.

But Wang went 6-2 ahead in the second game. But the Malaysian again grabbed several lucky points to turn the tables.

At 10-9, Wong managed to knock down six straight points to establish a 20-12 lead. Wang succeeded in saving five of the eight match points, but made another fatal mistake to lose the match 17-21.

The Malaysian remained calm after beating the world No. 1 Wang.

"I didn't think too much about that," Wong said. "I just tried my best to fight."

Wang was satisfied with the performance after saving five match points. "I was too far behind. If I made fewer errors, I could have got a better chance."