Kuala Lumpur: Lee Chong Wei who was making his maiden appearance in Malaysia’s Purple League at Sports Arena Sentosa on Saturday, defeated Kento Momota 11-9, 11-10, 6-11, 11-7 to lift Petaling Jaya past Ampang Jaya with the final score of 13-9.
World No. 3 Lee Chong Wei was unrelenting in the first and second set, taking the first two sets 11-9, 11-10. But Kento Momota staged formidable resistance as the two engaged in some outstanding rallies of the match, with the world No. 5 Japanese holding off Lee to win the third game 11-6. The exchanges continued in the final set but Lee who won three back to back Superseries titles in recent month – including French, China and Hong Kong Open, could not be hauled back to seal the last game 11-7.
“The team needs me, that’s why I’m here to carry out my responsibility. I’m still not used to the 11 x 5 scoring format compared to the 21 x 3 format,” said Lee after the match.
In two other Purple League ties on Saturday, Serdang BC broke to clinch 12-10 victory against Nusajaya BC; while Markis Kido who was still playing at the Macau Open on Friday, joined Cheras BC on Saturday and produced a stirring comeback to help Cheras BC clinched the tie against Bangsar Hawks BC with final score 10-7.
