Lee Chong Wei has been handed a tough draw in his quest for his 12th Malaysian Open title.
The upcoming Malaysian Open, which will be held at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil from June 26 to July 1, will be the 35-year-old's penultimate tournament before he takes on the BWF World Championships and Asian Games.
According to the draw results released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday, his first-round opponent is Kazumasa Sakai, a member of the Japan national men's team that finished runners-up at the 2018 Thomas Cup in Bangkok, Thailand.
However, all eyes will be on a potential mouthwatering quarter-final match-up with Viktor Axelsen.
If Lee reaches the stage and repeats his Thomas Cup result against the world no.1, a semi-final showdown with long-time rival Lin Dan could be on the cards, should the Malaysian Open defending champion overcome his bracket consisting of compatriots Chen Long and Shi Yuqi.
In the other half of the men's singles draw, the likes of Kento Momota, K. Srikanth and Son Wan-ho will be vying for a spot in the final.
2018 MALAYSIAN OPEN MATCH OVERVIEW OF MALAYSIAN SHUTTLERS
MEN'S SINGLES
Lee Chong Wei vs Kazumasa Sakai
WOMEN'S SINGLES
Soniia Cheah vs Tai Tzu Ying
Goh Jin Wei vs Pai Yu Po
Lee Ying Ying vs Chiang Ying Li
MEN'S DOUBLES
Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong vs Tinn Isriyanet-Kittisak Namdash
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik vs Phillip Chew-Ryan Chew
Chooi Kah Ming-Low Juan Shen vs Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto
Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi vs Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen
WOMEN'S DOUBLES
Vivian Hoo-Soong Fie Cho vs Naoko Fukuman-Kurumi Yonao
Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean vs Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi
Goh Yea Ching-Tee Jing Yi vs Kim Hye Rin-Kong Hee Yong
Lim Jee Lynn Lim-Zhen Yap vs Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara
MIXED DOUBLES
Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing vs Zhang Nan-Li Yinhui
Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying vs Wang Chi Lin-Lee Chia Hsin
Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai vs Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai
Seng Foo Lee
Tue Jun 05 2018
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