KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Lee Chong Wei was made to slog before reaching the second round of the Indonesia Open on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old struggled to adapt to the conditions on court but quickly found his rhythm to see off Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto 13-21, 21-10, 21-18 in the opening stage.
"As always, the first match is never easy. Chong Wei seemed very uncertain in the first game, while Tommy was very confident and hardly made any mistakes" said national singles coach Hendrawan.
Chong Wei, gunning for his record seventh title, will play qualifier H.S.Prannoy of India next for a place in the last eight. Prannoy had upset local favourite Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21-13, 21-18 in the first round.
"He (Prannoy) may be a qualifier, but we cannot underestimate him. Look at what he did to Anthony. Chong Wei must treat every match seriously and focus really hard," added Hendrawan.
The only other player to have won the Indonesia Open six time was former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat, who retired in 2013.