KUALA LUMPUR: Men's singles Lee Zii Jia has not had the best of starts this season, but could all that change for the world No. 4 at the German Open this week?
Following the team managers' meeting on Monday, several top players, including Denmark's Anders Antonsen and Rasmus Gemke and India's K. Srikanth, have withdrawn from the Super 300 event, paving the way for Zii Jia to turn his fortunes around in Mulheim.
Zii Jia, 25, will open his German Open campaign against a qualifier in the first round tomorrow.
If he wins, the reigning Asian champion will likely face Israel's Misha Zilberman in the second round, with a mouth-watering quarter-final showdown on the cards against India's Lakshya Sen.
The last time both heavyweights came together at the 2022 Thomas Cup, Zii Jia prevailed with a 23-21, 21-9 victory.
However, Zii Jia, who failed to clear the second round in his opening three tournaments this year, cannot get too ahead of himself.
Should the Malaysian reach the semi-finals on Saturday, he will likely face third seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan. For the record, the Japanese world No. 6 sent Zii Jia packing in the first round of the Super 1000 Malaysia Open in January.
Apart from Lakshya and Naraoka, other notable names who could spoil Zii Jia's party are China's Lu Guang Zu, Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu, Angus Ng Ka Long, Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama, and Liew Daren, who is Zii Jia's acting coach and sparring partner.
Compatriot Cheam June Wei, who is in the bottom half of the draw, will take on Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in the first round.