KUALA LUMPUR: While it's not known now if Lee Zii Jia will participate in next week's Thailand Open, the world No. 10 can expect a rocky path ahead if he decides to compete.
Zii Jia, who was absent from the Super 500 tournament last year, stands a chance to make it a back-to-back victory of sorts in Bangkok, having captured the title in 2022.
However, Zii Jia could find himself having to face China's world No. 6 Li Shi Feng as early as the quarter-finals.
Shi Feng has won three of their five encounters to date, the latest being in the second round of the French Open last year.
For the record, Zii Jia has not performed better than reaching the quarter-finals so far this year on the World Tour.
Zii Jia will open his campaign against Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen, with world No. 21 Koki Watanabe looking likely to be his opponent in the second round.
The other two top contenders in the same bottom half are Japan's world No. 5 Kodai Naraoka and Chou Tien Chen, who inspired Taiwan to their first-ever medal at the Thomas Cup last week.
Fans will surely be eagerly anticipating a potential clash between Zii Jia and Naraoka after it didn't materialise in last week's Thomas Cup quarter-finals.
The top seed for the Thailand Open is world No. 4 Anders Antonsen, who was promoted to the top following the withdrawal of Indonesian duo Anthony Ginting and Jonatan Christie.
Antonsen will face stiff challenges from the likes of defending champion and home favourite Kunlavut Vitidsarn, India's H.S. Prannoy, and Singapore's Loh Kean Yew.
The next five World Tour tournaments, in which Zii Jia had entered his name, including the Malaysia Masters, Singapore Open, Indonesia Open, and Australian Open, will be crucial for him to break into the world's top eight.
Even though the Olympics may expand the seeded players count to 16, it's still crucial for Zii Jia to strive for a place among the top eight.
This could help him steer clear of facing tough contenders like Denmark's Viktor Axelsen or China's Shi Yu Qi as early as the round of 16, provided he advances past the group stage.
Zii Jia looks to be in good spirits after helping Malaysia clinch their first podium in Chengdu last week.
Antonsen, who made Kuala Lumpur his base to prepare for the upcoming World Tour events in the region, took time off his busy schedule to catch up with Zii Jia for dinner on Wednesday.
The Dane took to Instagram to share a photo of him and Zii Jia where they were also accompanied by former internationals Liew Daren (Zii Jia's former coach) and Joachim Persson (Antonsen's coach), as well as Lee Zii Yi (Zii Jia's sister and manager)