Lydia Cheah faces a potentially fatal first round battle against South Korea’s Hwang Hye Youn. THE national shuttlers, except for Lydia Cheah, are poised to begin their German Open campaign with victories in Mulheim today. Lydia faces a difficult first-round encounter against hard-working South Korean Hwang Hye Youn, the fourth seed, in the women's singles but the Malaysia has good reason to overcome the odds. Lydia, the World No 35, must break into the top 24 before the end of April in order to earn a chance of qualifying for the World Championships, and a win against Hye Youn will strengthen her cause. As for Julia Wong she should advance to the second round without much trouble as she meets Megumi Taruno of Japan in her opening encounter. The men's elite back-up shuttlers, led by Chong Wei Feng, should also have it easy before things get tough in the later stages of the grand prix event. Wei Feng has a relatively easy first-round match against Marc Zwieble...