KUALA LUMPUR: Fresh off his victory at the Arctic Open, Lee Zii Jia will be aiming to pick up where he left off last week as he competes in the Denmark Open, which begins today in Odense.
While clinching the Super 500 title in Vantaa is undeniably commendable, what's even more crucial is how the rejuvenated Zii Jia performs in the upcoming two weeks, including at the French Open, both of which are Super 750-rated events.
Zii Jia enters the fray this week as last year's tournament runner-up.
It's worth noting that last week's event featured only four of the world's top-10 players, with Denmark's Anders Antonsen, whom Zii Jia defeated in the semi-finals, being the highest-ranked competitor at No. 10.
For both the Denmark and French Opens, these two tournaments are expected to feature line-ups comparable in strength to the World Championships.
Unless there are any last-minute withdrawals, all the well-rested top players, such as Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, Indonesia's Anthony Ginting, Japan's Kodai Naraoka, and reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, are slated to return to action starting this week.
Chinese standouts Li Shi Feng and Shi Yu Qi, who clinched a 1-2 finish at the Hangzhou Asian Games, will also join the competition. Yu Qi is the defending champion of this tournament.
There's also India's Asiad bronze medallist, H.S. Prannoy, and Indonesia's Jonatan Christie, completing the roster of the current world's top-eight players in this week's field.
That said, it will be interesting to see how Zii Jia and Ng Tze Yong, who finished a career-best runner-up last Sunday, measure up against these familiar and notable rivals.
Two weeks ago in Hangzhou, Zii Jia lost to Prannoy in the quarter-finals, while Tze Yong was also halted at the same stage by Naraoka.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Zii Jia could face home hero Axelsen as early as the second round.
Axelsen has only won his home Open once, in 2021, and will be eager to add another title to his collection.
Kunlavut, Prannoy, and Jonatan are all in the same upper half of the draw as Zii Jia.
As for Tze Yong, he will begin his campaign against China Open finalist Lu Guang Zu, in a rematch of their quarter-final in Vantaa.
Tze Yong will be confident, having won comfortably 21-11, 21-18 just last week.
Should he progress, world No. 2 Anthony is likely to be his opponent in the second round.
Shi Feng, Naraoka, and Yu Qi could be potential adversaries for Tze Yong if he aims to reach his second final in consecutive weeks.