PETALING JAYA: National men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh is certainly showing progress after coming close to clinching his second title of the year.
The 20-year-old was chasing his second tournament win of the year after claiming victory at the Slovenian Open in May, but fell short as he had to settle for second place at the Northern Marianas Open yesterday.
Fifth seed Justin was defeated by unseeded Taiwanese shuttler Cheng Kai 12-21, 20-22 in the final at the Oleai Sports Complex in Saipan. This was also Justin’s second final appearance of the year after returning back to court from a series of injuries in March.
Last year, Justin won the Uganda International in February but ruptured his Achilles tendon in April, sidelining him for the next eight months.
His return in November last year was cut short as he suffered foot and knee injuries, forcing him to miss the Asia Team Championships in February, also sinking his rankings from as high as world No. 48 to No. 233.
With the win in Slovenia and double final appearances, Justin now ranks No. 115.
FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Cheng Kai (Tpe) bt Justin Hoh (Mas) 21-12, 22-20.
Men’s doubles: Takumi Nomura-Yuichi Shimogami (Jpn) bt Mahiro Kaneko-Shunya Ota (Jpn) 22-20, 21-18.
Women’s singles: Kaoru Sugiyama (Jpn) bt Sakura Masuki (Jpn) 21-17, 21-15.
Women’s doubles: Mizuki Otake-Miyu Takahashi (Jpn) bt Miki Kanehiro-Rui Kiyama (Jpn) 21-4, 21-10.
Mixed doubles: Yuichi Shimogami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) bt Tori Aizawa-Hina Osawa (Jpn) 21-19, 21-12.
