Hong Kong’s World No 17 Angus Ng beat World No 4 Lee 21-19, 21-16 after a 39-minute battle at the Al Nasr Club’s Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan indoor hall. It was his second consecutive defeat by Ng, who beat him in the Indonesia Masters second round in January.

Ng now faces Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama in the second round after Kanta eased past Nepal’s Prince Dahal 21-7, 21-13.

Lee started the year on a low with early eliminations at the Malaysia Open, India Open, Indonesia Masters and German Open, but he showed hope after advancing to the semi-finals of the All England and Swiss Open recently.

Men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong, women’s singles players Goh Jin Wei and S. Kisona, women’s doubles players Ng Qi Xuan-Teoh Le Xuan and Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien, as well as Tan Kian Meng-Tan Wee Kiong (men’s doubles) and Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See (mixed doubles) were also first-round casualties in Dubai.

Reigning men’s doubles world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik are through to the second round after defeating Indonesia’s World No 10 pairing of Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin 19-21, 21-19, 22-20.

The Malaysian duo, ranked second in the world, will take on Lee Yang-Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei, who beat Japanese pair Keiichiro Matsui-Yoshinori Takeuchi 21-10, 21-16.