Badminton-Top seed Chong Wei out of Thai Open

BANGKOK, July 26 (Reuters) Top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia made a surprise early exit from the Thailand Open today after losing to China's Chen Yu 21-19 14-21 21-19 in the men's singles.

Chong Wei, the world number one, launched a spirited fightback late in the match, but 27th-ranked Chen held on to take victory and advance to the third round.

Chen varied his game from powerful returns to delicate drop shots, which sent Chong Wei to the floor several times.

After losing the opening game, a visibly frustrated Chong Wei found his way back into the match, coming from behind to take the second game by seven points.

The Malaysian trailed in the third and final game but clawed his way back into the 59-minute contest, saving three match points to bring the game to 20-19, but Chen continued to attack, forcing an error to deny the Asian champion victory.

Second seed Peter Gade of Denmark had a comfortable win over Thailand's Poompat Sapkulchananart, wrapping up the second round match 21-7 21-13 in 35 minutes.

The four-time European champion frustrated Poompat by drawing him to the net with light flicks before smashing the shuttlecock high into the back of the court and forcing the Thai onto his backhand.

''Having the world number one go out makes no difference to me,'' Gade told Reuters. ''I'm happy with my performance so far. I didn't give anything away today and it was a comfortable win for me.'' China looked set to dominate the tournament after the opening day, with all of their players through to the next stage.

Third seed Chen Hong came from behind to beat Rosobin Jeffer of Indonesia 19-21 21-13 21-17 while fifth-seeded Bao Chunlai saw off Malaysia's Wong Beryno 21-8 21-14 in the second round.

Sixth seed Chen Jin of China defeated South Korean Jang Young Soo 21-14 21-17 to progress to the next round.

China's mixed doubles pairing Zhang Jun and Gao Ling scored a first round victory over Malaysia's Tan Bin Shen and Ooi Yu Hang 21-11 21-10 in just 20 minutes, while in the women's singles first round, top seed Xie Xingfang of China progressed with a 20-minute 21-7 21-10 victory over Rachel Van Cutsen of the Netherlands.

Team mate Zhu Lin beat Thai Monthila Meemek 21-9 21-12 while compatriot Lu Lan defeated Thailand's Salakjit Ponsana 21-15 21-10 to book her place in the second round.

REEUTERS MQA PM2225