WORLD No 45 Ng Tze Yong hopes to achieve his target of qualifying for his first World Championships, scheduled in Tokyo on Aug 21-28.
However, the shuttler needs a big result in the ongoing Korea Open to boost his chances of featuring in Tokyo.
The qualifiers will be determined based on the world rankings on April 26.
As it stands, Malaysia are set to have world No 7 Lee Zii Jia and No 35 Liew Daren on the 65-man list for the men's singles event in Tokyo.
A nation can have up to four representatives in each world meet event, provided they are ranked in the top eight. However, they can have three and two representatives if their shuttlers are ranked top 24 and top 150, respectively.
However, there's still a likelihood for Tze Yong to qualify through the Phase 2 selection. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) will invite the next highest-ranked players on the reserve list if there are withdrawals.
The onus is now on Tze Yong to crack the top 40 or at least edge closer to that bracket before the deadline to place himself high up on the reserve list and increase the possibility of getting the ticket.
Tze Yong needs at least a runner-up finish at the Korea Open to break into the world's top 40. A semi-final outing could be enough for him to climb just three rungs to No 42.
"It's certainly a goal of mine to make my world meet debut. I may not be able to qualify outright, but I believe I stand a chance to make it through Phase 2," said Tze Yong, who plays Kim Dong Hun in today's Korea Open second-round match.
"Cheam June Wei made the cut (in Huelva, Spain last year) due to withdrawals.
"It's up to me to make it happen, and that's by boosting up my ranking with a good result here.
"My priority is to gain confidence for the Thomas Cup Finals, so if a good outing here can help me secure my world meet debut, then it's a big bonus."
If Tze Yong gets through to the last eight, he will face June Wei or Wen Hong Yang of China.