Lee Zii Jia didn't trip in the first round Down Under though he was made to struggle a bit in Sydney yesterday.
The Malaysian got his Australian Open campaign off to a winning start after slogging past India's S. Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian 21-16, 18-21, 21-10.
Despite moving a spot down to world No. 8 this week, Zii Jia remains optimistic of staying in the top eight for a good seeding at the Olympics next month.
Zii Jia, who reached the semi-finals last year, will face compatriot Soong Joo Ven in the second round. In the opening round, Joo Ven demolished Canada's Victor Lai 21-12, 21-16.
Zii Jia is the overwhelming favourite to beat Joo Ven, as he has never lost to the world No. 78 in their two past meetings.
In the absence of top players like China's world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi, Denmark's Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen, world No. 3 Jonatan Christie and Thai world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, there may be no one strong enough to stop
Zii Jia.
In the women's singles, national shuttler K. Letshanaa thrashed Australia's Ira Sameer Acharya 21-6, 21-5 in the first round. But national player Wong Ling Ching failed to clear the first round, losing 21-14, 23-21 to India's Anupama Upadhyaya.