Badminton world number one Lee Chong Wei has been forced to fight for his place in the world championships in a thrilling battle with an unseeded opponent.
Spectators in Guangzhou were left stunned on Wednesday as they watched Lee lose the first game of the second round 14-21 to Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia, who is ranked 26th in the world.
Rumbaka has met Malaysia's Lee five times and never beaten him, but he showed no sign of nerves, repeatedly forcing him to the net with drop shots which took the pace out of the Malaysian's game.
Lee looked increasingly rattled and murmurs of disbelief rippled around the Tianhe gymnasium, as he went behind in the second game.
The pair traded smashes and body shots, but Lee recovered to take the second game 21-18 before winning the third 21-11, hitting his attacking stride in the final points.
"I couldn't find my pace, especially in the first game," Lee told reporters.
"Today has been a reminder that I have to get more prepared for the coming matches so I can perform better," he said.
Lee's arch rival, Chinese superstar Lin Dan, breezed through his second-round match against Dutch player Eric Pang, winning 21-14, 21-17, leaving him on a collision course for a final against Lee.
Meanwhile, top-ranked women's singles seed Li Xuerui of China, who took gold at the London Olympics, strolled to victory in her first game of the tournament, beating Ukraine's Marija Ulitina 21-9, 21-10.
