After Liew Darren had made it to the main draw, the expectations were high that KLRC's Muhammad Hafiz Hashim will join the youngster.
And after the easy first set win 21-11, few would bet against Hafiz making it into the main draw of the All England, a tournament where Hafiz made his mark by winning the singles crown in 2003.
But the fire was missing, doused by his lethargic approach, lack of enthusiasm and above all playing like a novice against Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen, a player who only made it into the qualifiers after another Malaysian Mohd Arif Latif withdrew.
However it was just another illusion from Hafiz as he crumbled in the next two, playing like a novice, lacking any clue on how to defeat an opponent, and above everything else displaying traits of a player who had no interest in being at this event.
While Hafiz was a letdown, Chong Wei Feng who accounted for the second qualifying seed Hsu Jen Hao played splendidly to oust India's RMV Gurusaidutt 21-16, 20-22, 21-8 and joins Liew Darren in the main draw.
Wei Fung will take on Pablo Ablan of Spain, a match in which he will surely fancy his chances before a prized meeting against the mighty Lin Dan of China should he make it to the second round.
In a nutshell Hafiz was the only casualty in the mens singles qualification, and he has only himself to blame for the sorry exit.
In the men's doubles, Mak Hee Chun/Tan Wee Kiong withdrew midway in their match against the Danish pairing of Rasmus Bonde/Anders Kristiansen.
KLRC's Mohd Fairuzizuan Tazari/Mohd Zakry Latiff however created an upset as they ousted the fourth seeds, winning 21-15, 21-17.
They will now take on Germany's Michael Fuchs/Oliver Roth in the first round scheduled for Wednesday.
In an all Malaysian encounter, Goh V Shem/Teo Kok Siang got the better of KLRC's Gan Tek Chai/Tan Bin Shen 19-21, 21-13, 22-20.
And they will face tournament second seeds Jung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae in the opening round tomorrow.
At the end of the qualifiers, Malaysia who had
