Lee Zii Jia had no issues clearing the opening round of the German Open after the Malaysian easily overcame Magnus Johannesen 21-11, 21-5 as the first BWF World Tour event of the European leg got underway Wednesday.
Tougher tests than the Danish youngster awaits Lee, but the top seed should be satisfied to get off the mark in a convincing manne after recently admitting about seeking to regain his confidence once again.
The world number four should also have no problems getting past Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chia-hao in the second round on Thursday.
Malaysia’s interest in the men’s singles now lies with Lee after veteran Liew Daren lost in straight games 18-21, 17-21 to Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama.
The good news is Liew can now fully devote his attention to Lee courtside as his coach, having been promoted from assistant coach after Indra Wijaya's departure.
Cheam June Wei completed the double exit after also losing to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 10-21, 15-21.
It was good news for Goh Jin Wei who came out on top against German Lianne Tan 23-21, 21-13 in the women’s singles.
The Malaysian independent shuttler, however, will have to be at her best against Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong.
In the mixed doubles, Chen Tan Jie-Toh Ee Wei came through their first round hurdles against team-mates Hoo Pang Ron-Teoh Mei Xing, but face a big test against South Koreans Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yu Jung next.
Another pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing exited after losing in straight games to their Indonesian opponents.
