Top seed Huang Sun Ho, of Korea, was a surprise withdrawal before the start of the Waitakere International badminton tournament in Auckland last night.
Huang had to pull out with a leg injury, giving New Zealander Jarrod King an unexpected passage into the second round of the men's singles.
Otherwise the openingmatches went with form, the seeded players progressing without dropping a set.
Second seed Ng Wei, of Hong Kong, beat New Zealand's Koo Stanley, while Geoff Bellingham, seeded third, cruised past fellow Waitakere player Tony Griffen 15-2, 15-4.
The championship, which has drawn one of the strongest fields to appear in New Zealand, is the final Olympic Games qualifying opportunity worldwide.
