KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian badminton fans have been expressing dissatisfaction for several months now regarding the draw outcomes in most World Tour events.
The Super 750 China Masters, which starts on Tuesday, is a perfect example.
By the first round of the men's singles event, one of Malaysia's top two men's singles shuttlers will be out.
This is because world No 11 Lee Zii Jia will face Ng Tze Yong in the opening round in Shenzhen.
While the clash may seem inconsequential, given that they are in different halves of the draw, the withdrawal of world No. 1 and recently crowned Kumamoto Masters champion, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, can be viewed as a modest consolation.
The great Dane, who is just coming back from a nagging foot injury, announced on his X account, formerly Twitter, that he is not yet fully fit to play in back-to-back tournaments.
"A short update to let you know that I unfortunately won't be participating in the China Masters this week. "Would've loved to play, but my foot is simply not ready to play consecutive weeks with many hard matches.
"I will take a few days to recover and get healthy before I jump on the court again.
"A shame, as I love to play in China, but luckily I will come back in December for the World Tour Finals," said Axelsen.
As for the highly anticipated clash between Zii Jia and Tze Yong, it will be tough to pick a winner.
Independent shuttler Zii Jia is determined to do well as this could be his last tournament of the season, while Tze Yong, who is expected to move a rung up to No. 14 in the world this week, will be eyeing revenge after losing twice to the former this year.
While qualifying for the season-ending World Tour Finals in Hangzhou on Dec 13-17 remains a long shot for both players, there is a slim chance.
Tze Yong must reach at least the final, while Zii Jia must win the title and hope for several other players to falter early.
Regardless of the outcome, the result of the match will definitely set the tone for the upcoming season, which will also mark the final leg of the one-year Olympic qualifiers.
As it stands, both Zii Jia and Tze Yong are still in the top 16 qualifying bracket to reach the 2024 Paris Games.
The maximum representation for a country in the Olympics singles events is limited to two players, provided they secure positions within the top 16 standings in the Race to Paris at the end of the qualifying period.