BEIJING, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Canadian Anna Rice fought off a comeback bid to defeat American Eva Lee Saturday in the opening round of the Olympic badminton tournament.
The top-seeded players in both the men's and women's draw received a bye in the first round, including men's gold medal favorite Lin Dan of China.
Lin, one of the most recognizable athletes in all of China, will not play until Monday, when he will take on Ng Wie of Hong Kong.
Rice appeared to be cruising to a victory over Lee after taking the first set 21-15, but Lee rallied to capture the second 21-19. Rice prevailed in the third set 21-19 to set up a second-round match with Jeannine Cicognini of Switzerland, who was a straight-sets winner over Ana Moura of Portugal.
Raju Rai, the only American in the men's draw, received a first-round bye and will play Finland's Ville Lang in the second round. Lang disposed of Vladyslav Druzchenko of Ukraine on Saturday.
