KUALA LUMPUR: Fatigue and the eagerness to win got the better of national men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia, who crashed out in the semi-finals of the Bitburger Open in Germany on Saturday.
After staging a superb comeback in the quarter-finals on Friday, the 19-year-old went down tamely 21-11, 21-12 to Denmark's Rasmus Gemke in the last four stage.
Zii Jia, who recently won the Polish International Series, however, took heart from his Europe performance and has vowed to come back stronger at the Malaysia International Challenge in Pasir Gudang next week.
"After a hard-fought battle against Brice Leverdez (France) on Friday, I thought I could go on and reach the final. I was wrong," lamented Zii Jia.
"I felt drained, but it was also because I thought I could win easily. These are lessons I learn along the way.
"I am still happy with my performance here, and would once again like to thank everyone who has played a part in my development.
"Next up is the Malaysia IC. I promise to give my best," he said.
The Kedah-born shuttler now has his sights on breaking into the world top 40 by the end of the year.
"I was hoping to take my time and break into the world top 60 earlier, but I have achieved that already. I guess my aim now is to break into the top 40," added the world No 55.