KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia can harbour hopes of beating the near-unbeatable Viktor Axelsen in the Dane's own backyard.
The world No. 3 Malaysian should fancy his chances of winning his first Denmark Open title in view of Axelsen's condition.
The World No. 1 was reportedly in a race against time to be fit for the Super 750 Denmark Open, which begins in his hometown of Odense next Tuesday.
TV2 Danmark reported earlier this week that the Olympic champion has been missing training due to a leg injury, and it does not bode well for Axelsen, who seeks to become the first Dane to defend the men's singles crown since Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen in 1995.
Despite his imposing status, Axelsen only managed to win his home Open for the first time last year after prevailing 20-22, 21-18, 21-12 against Japan's Kento Momota. While Axelsen did not divulge the details of his injury, the world champion has vowed to do whatever it takes to compete next week. "It is clear that it (his condition) is not optimal, but I hope and believe that I will start training at the end of the week," Axelsen was quoted as saying in the report.
"So, I still believe that I have to play, and I'm doing everything to get ready."
This development will surely raise the hopes of his rivals, especially those in the upper half of the draw such as Zii Jia, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew, Indonesia's Jonatan Christie and India's K. Srikanth, the 2017 winner.
In fact, Axelsen can expect a tough time in the first round itself as he is drawn against Thai ace Kunlavut Vitidsarn in a repeat of the World Championships final in Tokyo two months ago. Axelsen then won 21-5, 21-16.
However, Axelsen appears to be unstoppable as he has lost only once in 41 matches. After going down to India's Lakhsya Sen in the German Open semi-finals in March, he went on to win the All England, European Championships, Indonesia Masters, Indonesia Open, Malaysia Open, and most recently the World Championships.