KUALA LUMPUR: The dream to win back to back World Tour titles went up in smoke for Malaysia's top men's singles player, Lee Zii Jia.
Playing in the Denmark Open final on Sunday, just one week after winning the Super 500 Arctic Open, Zii Jia ran out of luck as he succumbed in straight games 21-12, 21-6 to China's Weng Hong Yang.
The defeat is Zii Jia's third to the China world No. 22 in four meetings.
Despite the defeat, Zii Jia, who looks to have regained his form, is expected to continue his good showing since missing out on a podium finish at the Hangzhou Asian Games earlier this month.
Zii Jia, the losing finallist from last year, will compete in the French Open next week.
Men's singles: Weng Hong Yang (Chn) bt Lee Zii Jia 21-12, 21-6.
Men's doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana (Ina) 21-13, 21-17.
Women's singles: Chen Yu Fei (Chn) bt Carolina Marin (Spa) 21-14, 21-19.
Women's doubles: Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan (Chn) bt Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida (Jpn) 21-16, 21-13.
Mixed doubles: Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping (Chn) bt Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong (Chn) 16-21, 21-15, 26-24.