Tough opponent: Viktor Axelsen will be up against China’s Shi Yuqi in the first round of the Denmark Open.
PETALING JAYA: A mouth-watering rematch of the All-England final is on the cards next month.
This comes after Lee Zii Jia and Viktor Axelsen have been drawn in the same half of the Denmark Open and are expected to cross paths in the quarter-finals at the event which starts from Oct 19-24 in Odense.
Zii Jia will certainly fancy a shot at repeating his win against the newly crowned Tokyo Olympics champion.
The All-England final in March saw Zii Jia prevail 30-29, 20-22, 21-9 in a pulsating 74-minute battle to emerge champion of the world’s oldest tournament for the first time.
It was also Zii Jia’s second win in five meetings against the lanky Dane.
If their clash does materialise, fans are in for a treat as both are eager to impress in the tournament.
Zii Jia had only played the Denmark Open once two years ago but was sent packing in the first round by Rio Olympics winner Chen Long.
Axelsen will be desperate to prove himself on home soil as he has never won it before. His best outing was reaching the semi-finals in 2015 and 2019.
But before looking ahead, Axelsen will have to negotiate a tough hurdle against China’s Shi Yuqi in the first round.
Yuqi seems to have put his injury problems behind him having been crowned the national champion earlier this month.
Zii Jia, meanwhile, should clear his first-two rounds with relative ease.
He opens his campaign against Taiwan’s Wang Tzu-wei and a win will see him face either Hans Kristian-Vittinghus or compatriot Liew Daren in the last 16.
The other seeded players in the bottom half are Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen and Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long.
World No. 3 Anders Antonsen has a tricky route in his title defence as he is bunched with Japan’s world No. 1 and two-time winner Kento Momota and Indonesian duo Anthony Ginting and Jonatan Christie in the upper half.
In men’s doubles, Olympics bronze medallists Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik also look set for the quarter-finals where they are expected to clash with Olympics champions Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin of Taiwan.
Meanwhile, newly-combined independent pair Goh V Shem-Low Juan Shen are unlucky to have drawn Lee Yang-Chi-lin in the first round.
The other Malaysian doubles pairs in the fray are Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.
Malaysia are also well represented in the mixed doubles with Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie, Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See and Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei.
The last Malaysians to have won the Denmark Open title were V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong in 2016.
