KUALA LUMPUR: Roslin Hashim commended Lee Zii Jia's effort in boosting his world ranking before the Olympics, but urged the shuttler to be wary of darkhorses in Paris.
Former world No 1 Roslin believes that there are always giantkillers waiting to pounce in major tournaments.
And still fresh in the mind is how Guatemala's unheralded Kevin Cordon shocked everyone at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by making a stellar charge to the semi-finals.
So, the unpredictable Zii Jia got to be careful of such banana skins.
Roslin said Zii Jia has done well to make his way up to world No. 7, which will get him a favourable seeding at the Olympics.
This means he will avoid meeting the world's top four singles players at least until the quarter-finals.
Roslin, who played in the 2004 Olympics, said Zii Jia's success in winning the Thailand and Australian Opens and reaching the Malaysian Masters final will definitely boost his confidence ahead of the Paris Games.
"His second-place finish at the Malaysia Masters, too, was important. Even though he didn't win, he got to the final where previously he would exit early.
"Though he will be seeded, he needs to keep his focus because we don't know who will be in his group.
"Unseeded opponents can still be dangerous, and Zii Jia needs to look out for them," Roslin told Timesport.