After nearly a two-month lay off from competitive tournaments due to injury, world number two Datuk Lee Chong Wei started his London Olympics campaign on a winning note by booking a place in the men's singles quarterfinals.

Chong Wei barely beat lanky Finnish player Ville Lang 21-8, 14-21, 21-11 in a Group A match at the Wembley Arena, early this morning.

Chong Wei, the country's best bet to end a barren run of gold medals at the Olympics since Malaysia first participated at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, had suffered an ankle injury during the Thomas Cup Finals in Wuhan, China in May and had since not played any competitive matches.

In another match, Malaysia's lone womens singles player in the Olympics, Tee Jing Yi beat Italian Agnese Allegrini 21-7, 21-14 in straight sets to keep her hopes alive in the competition

Meanwhile national mixed doubles of Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying lost to Thailand's pair this evening 16-21, 15-21