KUALA LUMPUR: Brice Leverdez, the brick wall that Lee Chong Wei ran into in 2017, wasn't an obstacle for Lee Zii Jia at the World Championships in Tokyo today.
World No 5 Zii Jia dismantled the French barrier with a 21-11, 21-13 win in 40 minutes in the first round.
Despite starting as the favourite, Zii Jia, 24, was wary of the man who knocked out former world No 1 Lee Chong Wei in the first round of the 2017 World Championships in Glasgow.
Now that the first round banana skin has been avoided, Zii Jia should power past Portugal's Bernardo Atilano in the second round tomorrow.
Zii Jia, who courted controversy recently in skipping the Commonwealth Games to prepare for the World Championships, said: "Everything is fine, I feel really good."