Lee Zii Jia will face a massive test in the Malaysia Open first round as he squares off against Japan's Kodai Naraoka, who came within striking distance of handing Viktor Axelsen a rare loss at the World Tour Finals.

Lee, seeded second, is in a transition phase of his career after deciding to split with former coach Indra Wijaya last month.

The Asian champion chose to play without a coach for the time being, and he could not have asked for a more challenging tie than Naraoka.

The Japanese pushed Axelsen to the wire and only lost by a whisker at the season finale semi-finals earlier this month.

“I dodged a bullet today. Kodai could have gone through. I would say that match was close to being my toughest of the entire year,” said Axelsen after winning that match.

Lee is currently in Taiwan for a training session to prepare for the Super 1000 event which takes place from January 10-15 at the Axiata Arena.

Should Lee win against Naraoka, he could face Ng Tze Yong, who is also drawn in the lower half and plays Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen.

The Malaysia Open men’s singles draw is set to be a crowd puller with all the top shuttlers on display.

Axelsen is up against countryman Rasmus Gemke, while last year’s finalist Kento Momota returns to BWF circuit action to face Toma Junior Popov.

Momota, who was already displaced by Naraoka as the highest ranked Japanese men's singles, took time off to work on his game after a string of disappointing results.

The former world champion last saw action in August, where he lost in the Japan Open first round.

Chou Tien-chen, Shi Yu Qi, Anthony Ginting, Anders Antonsen, Loh Kean Yew and Lakshya Sen are the other notable stars in action in Malaysia.