Jun Hao stays on right path in comeback trail
Leong Jun Hao will keep working hard to prove that he is not badminton’s forgotten guy.
After losing to Ng Tze Yong in the singles final of the most recent Malaysia Games, the 23-year-old singles shuttler, who is steadily but definitely working his way up, established his position as the second best player in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) system (Sukma).
Jun Hao, who was representing the Federal Territories, performed admirably until losing to his younger rival 21-18, 19-21, and 12-21.
After completing his home obligations, Jun Hao will now focus on the Vietnam Open, which gets underway today in Ho Chi Minh City.
I’m feeling fairly good about my current shape and improvement, remarked Jun Hao.
The nation’s budding star, the previous Asian Junior champion, had been hailed, but injuries had delayed his development.
Many people would have given up, but Jun Hao, who has worked for BAM for the past ten years, isn’t.
The 86th-ranked player in the world claimed, “My previous injuries are not bothering me any longer. All I need to do now is enhance my attention on the court.”
He suffered two hip injuries at the end of 2018, which caused his global ranking to fall from 40th to out of the top 100. In reality, the year before he had a setback, he won the Finland Open.
It’s difficult to say if I would have achieved success if it weren’t for my injuries, but they did slow me down. My objective is to enter the top 50 by the end of this year because I want to advance.
Jun Hao continued, “I’m prepared to give a good account of myself in the Vietnam Open.
The deft player will take on the victor of the first-round match between independent shuttler Cheam June Wei and India’s Abhyansh Singh. The skilled player’s best finish was a quarterfinal berth at the Poland Open.
Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan, the top seed, Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia, the fourth seed, P. Kashyap of India, the fifth seed, and Soong Joo Ven were all in his top half of the draw (seventh seed).
India’s B. Sai Praneeth, the second seed, Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, the third seed, and China’s Weng Hongyang, the sixth seed, are all grouped together in the second part of the draw.
