PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao (pic) has always been dependable in team competitions but he has struggled for consistency in individual tourneys.
World No. 36 Jun Hao, who is currently the third highest ranked Malaysian behind Lee Zii Jia (No. 10) and Ng Tze Yong (No. 16), is now out to change this and make a name for himself in individual competitions as well.
The 24-year-old wants to build on his encouraging showing in the Asia Team Championships last month where he won his matches against Taiwan and Singapore before going down fighting to Japan’s Koki Watanabe and China’s Weng Hongyang in the last four and finals respectively.
“I need to bring the same mindset from team competitions into individual events,” said Jun Hao after a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“My aim is to be consistent and keep up my fighting spirit.”
Jun Hao has a golden opportunity to prove himself in the Orleans Masters from March 12-17 in France.
The tournament will be without the world’s top players as the All-England is also being held at the same time in Birmingham.
Japan’s world No. 30 Takuma Obayashi is the highest ranked player in the competition.
Jun Hao will face South Korea’s world No. 51 Jeon Hyeok-jin in the first round.
“I have a chance to do well but I need to make sure my preparations are good going into every match,” said Jun Hao.
“I have never played against Hyeok-jin before and it will not be an easy match against him, so I need to be ready.”
Jun Hao will also compete in the back-to-back Swiss Open (March 19-24) in Basel and Spain Masters (March 26-31) in Madrid.
The 2017 Asian Junior champion is hoping to impress in all three tourneys as he bids to finally break into the top 32 in the world.
“I have been looking to breakthrough to the top 32 since last year but have still not managed to do so and I will keep trying,” said Jun Hao.
“I have three tournaments and if I do my best, for sure I can move up the rankings.”
Jun Hao’s best achievements so far in World Tour events are capturing the Super 100 Indonesian Masters in 2022 and KL Masters titles last year.
