KUALA LUMPUR: There was no first round banana skin for Lee Zii Jia at the All England in Birmingham today.
Despite the high stakes, the 2021 champion raised his game to upset world No. 6 Kodai Naraoka of Japan 21-12, 21-19.
The win is only the Malaysian's second over Naraoka in five meetings.
Incidentally, world No. 10 Zii Jia's last victory over Naraoka was also at the All England last year.
Zii Jia, who has never failed to at least reach the semi-finals in all four of his previous All England appearance, will meet former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore next.
The Penang-born Kean Yew made short work of Hong Kong's Angus Ng with a 21-12, 21-17 win in the first round.
"Going up against Kodai, one has to be prepared because he is a strong rally and defensive player.
"I focused on my attacking game play today, and it worked for me.
"The fast shuttle, the fastest I've played at the All England, also suits my game but I had to be cautious.
"Towards the end, I was eager to close up the match and made too many unforced errors, but still happy to win the tie," said Zii Jia.