PETALING JAYA: World no.1 Lee Chong Wei was given a scare by Indonesia’s Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka before he prevailed with a hard-fought 14-21, 21-18, 21-11 victory in a match that lasted 62 minutes.
With the victory, Chong Wei advanced to the to the third round of the Badminton World Championships in Guangzhou, China.
The 25-year-old Rumbaka and current world no.24 impressed in the first-set with his sharp smashes and quick movement as Lee struggled to match his rhythm and made uncharacteristic errors.
Lee came back strongly in the second set, but Rumbaka did not give in easily, putting up a fight in the tail end of the set.
However, it was a breeze for Lee in the rubber set as he wrapped up the game 21-11.
With the victory, Lee advanced to the third round where he will face either Wang Zhengming from China or Vladimir Ivanov from Russia.
Chong Wei is three steps away from the final.