KUALA LUMPUR: Despite falling short of reaching the quarter-finals at the Indian Open, men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao gained a valuable lesson in dealing with left-handed opponents.
While Chinese players had often been a stumbling block for him in the past, Jun Hao managed to overcome this hurdle by defeating fifth seed Li Shifeng in the first round.
This victory redeemed his earlier disappointment after being knocked out in the first round of the Malaysian Open last week, also at the hands of another Chinese player, Lu Guangzu.
Fuelled by that motivation, Jun Hao hoped to progress further, but his dreams were dashed after a 21-18, 21-18 loss to China’s Weng Hongyang in 44 minutes yesterday.
The Malaysian admitted that he struggled to adjust to the game plan and found it difficult to counter Hongyang’s left-handed play, which ultimately impacted his performance.
“I felt a bit uncomfortable with his playing style today. Perhaps his front court attacks made things challenging and disrupted my momentum.
“As a left-handed player, Hong Yang’s shot angles were also quite different, and that affected my game,” said Jun Hao in an interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Therefore, with this defeat, Jun Hao has a short time to address his weaknesses as he is scheduled to face Hongyang once again in the first round of the Indonesian Masters in Jakarta next Tuesday.
This loss also marks the end of Malaysia’s campaign in the men’s singles event at this year’s Indian Open, following the earlier withdrawal of professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia, who is still recovering from an injury.
