KUALA LUMPUR: Up-and-coming national shuttler Justin Hoh has earned a first-round showdown against world No. 7 Lee Zii Jia at the Kumamoto Masters after successfully progressing through the qualifying rounds today.
In the first round of men's singles qualifying, world No. 50 Justin upset South Korea's world No. 37 Jeon Hyeok Jin 21-15, 21-15 in just 38 minutes at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium in Japan.
Fuelled by his win, Justin battled for 75 minutes to edge another South Korean, Cho Geon Yeop, 21-15, 20-22, 21-17, securing himself a showdown with fifth seed Zii Jia tomorrow.
It will be the first meeting between the Malaysian shuttlers.
Zii Jia, meanwhile, is returning to competition after skipping the Denmark Open two weeks ago due to injury.
The world No. 7 sustained an ankle injury during his quarter-final defeat to Koki Watanabe at the Arctic Open.
Tomorrow's match may seem one-sided based on experience, but Justin will be eager to make a statement after being retained as a national player by the BA of Malaysia (BAM) last month.
Since winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in August, Zii Jia has struggled to impress, losing in the first round of the Korea Open and China Open before reaching the quarter-finals at the Arctic Open.
The former All England champion hopes to qualify for the season-ending World Tour Finals (WTF) and needs a strong performance in Japan to secure his spot.
He is currently ranked sixth in the World Tour standings. The WTF will take place in Hangzhou from Dec 11-15.