Chen Long
Lee's hopes of becoming the first Malaysian to win gold in the World Championships were dashed after defeat by Lin Dan in the final. Lee led for most of the match but lost two important match points in the rubber game. In September, Lee also failed to defend his Japan Open crown after losing to China's rising star Chen Long. In October, he lost to Chen Long again in his bid for his second Denmark Open title. He won the French Open a week later. This was followed by triple semi-finals exit in the Hong Kong Open, the China Open, and the Super Series Master Finals.