The world number 17, however, had to bounce back from a set down to beat compatriot and world number 51, Leong Jun Hao 12-21, 21-17, 21-16 after a hard fought battle that lasted for 64 minutes at the State Sports Centre in Sydney.

In the second round tomorrow, the 25-year-old is scheduled to take on Mithun Manjunath of India, who stunned former world champion Loh Kean Yew, from Singapore, 21-19, 21-19.

This is the first time Zii Jia was able to clear the first round since his second round exit in the Malaysia Masters in May. He has since been eliminated in the first round in four consecutive tournaments, namely the Singapore Open, Indonesia Open, Korea Open and Japan Open.

Zii Jia’s best achievement in the World Tour this year was reaching the semifinals of the All England and Swiss Open from the 11 tournaments he played.

Meanwhile, mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also advanced after ousting Lee Jae Sun from South Korea and Australian Charis Ho 21-10, 21-4.

The eighth seeds will meet Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas of Indonesia in the hunt for a quarterfinal spot tomorrow.

Another mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Teoh Mei Xing are set to face an uphill task against third seeds Seo Seung Jae-Chae Yu Jung of South Korea in the second round.

The world’s 37 ranked pair had earlier beat Terry Hee Yong Kai-Jessica Tan Wei Han, from Singapore, 21-15, 21-17.