LONDON, Aug. 22 -- Second seed Lee Chong Wei suffered a surprise defeat to Brice Leverdez of France in the first round of the badminton worlds here on Tuesday.

Twice defending champion and Olympic gold medalist Chen Long of China sailed to the second round with a 21-7, 21-19 win over Georges Julien Paul of Mauritius.

The 34-year-old Lee, who lost to Chen in the final at the Rio Olympics, saw his chance to win his first world title evaporate as he was shocked by the 31st-ranked Frenchman Brice Leverdez.

Lee, who finished second three times, lost 19-21, 24-22, 17-21 to the 31-year-old Leverdez.

"I just tried my best today," said Lee, who surrendered a 15-10 lead in the third game. "Pressure is normal. I didn't play well and I don't blame my game. I just made many simple mistakes."

When asked whether to fight for another world championships, he said, "I don't know."

Lee, also a three-time Olympic silver medalist, started this season with his fourth win in All England Open but lost to arch rival Lin Dan of China for two consecutive tournaments, the first in the final of Malaysia Open, and the second in semifinals of Asia Championships.

Leverdez won his only major world trophy at the 2013 Scottish Open. He will next take on the winner between Misha Zilberman of Israel and Zvonimir Durkinjak of Croatia.

Leverdez said: "I do not really care about what seed anyone is, the fact is I played my game and in a relaxed manner."

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