KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 10 Lee Zii Jia got his Swiss Open campaign off to a winning start on Wednesday, seeing off Taiwan's Yang Su Li to book his place in the last 16.
Zii Jia needed 42 minutes to carve out a 21-19, 21-12 win against up-and-coming Su Li, the world No. 30.
The 26-year-old Malaysian faced some resistance from his 22-year-old opponent during the latter stages of the opening game, having to play catch-up twice at 17-14 and 19-17.
But the former All England champion showed resilience to clinch the following four rallies to give him an early advantage.
The second game proved to be a lopsided affair, with Zii Jia leading from the start until the end.
Su Li recently showed that he was no pushover against top-ranked rivals, beating the likes of world No. 9 H.S. Prannoy of India during last week's All England.
Zii Jia will next face India's K. Srikanth or Taiwan's Wang Tzu Wei.
Being the top seed this week, Zii Jia is bidding to win his fifth World Tour title and his first since the Arctic Open in October last year.
Zii Jia is seeking a perfect present to mark his 26th birthday on March 29.