CLELY
Regular Member
Lin Guipu has to start from zero, he can only be in the reserved list of a Super100 event, the home-based Lingshui Masters where he is at R24, very unlikely he will get to play. That means he must play in as many Int'l Series and Int'l Challenge events to garner ranking points in double-quick time, an uphill battle but one that he is well prepared for, I believe.
As for Shi Yuqi, he's not even taking a break in February, having registered himself to play in the Lingshui Masters S100 and the Austrian Int'l Challenge, imagine that, the first time he's taking part in such a low tier event. One can imagine the kind of pressure he's under to perform and rise in the Race to Tokyo 2020, aiming for a good seeding in the top 8 so as to avoid his main rivals in the early rounds in the remaining tournaments and for the Olympics.
He also had been registered for Austrian IC (reserved list) : https://bwf.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/acceptancelist.aspx?id=B4CEC666-2D9C-4F6F-8F3F-63DE57484477

For Shi YQ to participate low-tier tournaments, it's part of consequences for the comeback player from long lay-off injury, it will take time and depending on his mental department to bring back fine touch, he needs to feel being champion again (even though for S100 event) to boost confidence.