KUALA LUMPUR: It has been almost a month since Lee Zii Jia disappeared from the international scene after suffering a first round exit at the Japan Open.
Citing mental and physical exhaustion, the Paris Olympic bronze medallist decided to take a break after his surprise loss to unheralded Frenchman Alex Lanier, who went on to win the Japan Open.
Zii Jia's fans can now look forward to the world No. 3 returning to action at the Super 1000 China Open which starts tomorrow.
Seeded third, Zii Jia is in the top half of the draw with top seed and homester Shi Yu Qi, Thailand's Olympic silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Indonesia's world No. 10 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
The Kedahan, who faces a tricky opener against Japan's world No. 14 Koki Watanabe, is expected to meet Japan's world No. 6 Kodai Naraoka in the quarter-finals. Both men are tied 3-3 on head-to-head record. If Zii Jia advances deeper, he could face Yu Qi, Ginting or Vitidsarn in the semi-finals.
At the bottom half of the draw, Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen and his Danish compatriot, Anders Antonsen, will vie with Indonesia's Jonatan Christie, Japan's Kenta Nishimoto and Singapore's former world champion Loh Kean Yew to reach the final.
The other Malaysian in the men's singles competition is Leong Jun Hao who will open his campaign against European Championships runners-up Toma Junior Popov from France.