KUALA LUMPUR: World No 3 Lee Zii smashed into the second round of the Denmark Open with a convincing win over Netherlands' Mark Caljouw in Odense on Tuesday.
However, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani were shown the door early in the men's doubles.
Zii Jia bounced back from his first-round slip at the Japan Open last month, brushing aside Caljouw 21-15, 21-10 for his fifth win in as many meetings against the Dutch player.
Zii Jia will fancy his chances against Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan, whom he has not lost to in all their two previous meetings, in the second round.
Zii Jia is seeking his third title of the year after triumphing at the Asia Championships and Thailand Open.
Meanwhile, Izzuddin-Sze Fei, the world No 10 and last year's semi-finalists, were stunned 21-18, 21-14 by Taiwan's scratch pairing of Lee Yang and Lu Chen in 38 minutes at the Jyske Bank Arena.
Lee Yang has formed a temporary combination with Lu Chen as his Tokyo Olympics gold medal-winning partner Wang Chi Lin is currently taking a break to recover from a foot injury.
The result is a massive letdown for Izzuddin-Sze Fei. It marked their third first-round exit in four World Tour starts since making it to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open in July.
If Izzuddin-Sze Fei are to miss the Guangzhou World Tour Finals in December, they have no one else but themselves to blame.
Their early exit will pave way for compatriots Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, currently fifth in the season-long Race to Guangzhou standings, to pull ahead of them in sixth spot.
Only the top eight singles and doubles at the end of the season, but capped at two per nation, will qualify for the US$1.5 million (RM7 million) finale from Dec 14-18.
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have already qualified by virtue of being the world champions.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi did themselves a massive favour after overcoming a tricky opener against Japan Open winners Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang of China 21-18, 22-20.
They will face another Chinese opponent Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi for a place in the quarter-finals.
Tan Wee Kiong-Tan Kian Meng gave a good account of themselves before losing 21-13, 19-21, 21-13 to South Korea's Kim Won Ho-Choi Sol Gyu.
FIRST-ROUND RESULTS
(Selected matches)
Men's singles: Loh Kean Yew (Sin) bt Sitthikorn Thammasin (Tha) 21-13, 22-20; K. Srikanth (Ind) bt Angus Ng Ka Long (Hkg) 17-21, 21-14, 21-12; Lee Zii Jia (Mas) bt Mark Caljouw (Ned) 21-15, 21-10; Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (Den) 21-18, 19-21, 21-18;
Women's singles: He Bing Jiao (Chn) bt Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Ina) 21-14, 21-19; Carolina Marin (Spa) bt Mia Blichfeldt (Den) 21-18, 21-14; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Line Kjaersfeldt (Den) 21-11 21-10; Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) bt Lianne Tan (Bel) 21-17, 21-10
Men's doubles: Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (Mas) bt Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang (Chn) 21-18, 22-20; Choi Sol Gyu-Kim Won Ho (Kor) bt Tan Kian Meng-Tan Wee Kiong (Mas) 21-13, 19-21, 21-13; Lee Yang-Lu Chen (Tai) bt Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (Mas) 21-18, 21-14;
Women's doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Supissara Paewsampran-Puttita Supajirakul (Tha) 21-16, 21-14;
Mixed doubles: Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping (Chn) bt Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See (Mas) 21-16, 21-17.