PETALING JAYA: Singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao has been withdrawn from the German Open and Orleans Open to focus in one tournament in Europe – the All-England.
In the qualifying list for both the tournaments, the world No. 28 Jun Hao’s name has been removed.
The German Open is from Feb 25-March 2 and followed by Orleans Open from March 4-9.
His name is still in the list for the prestigious All-England in Birmingham from March 11-16, underlining the coaches’ intent to focus only major tournament in Europe for Jun Hao.
Afterall, it will be his first All-England.
It looks like head coach Kenneth Jonassen wants his No. 1 player to have more time to prepare for the major tournament.
Jun Hao is being counted on as the first singles in the Asia Mixed Team championships in Qingdao, China, from Feb 11-16 and it will be a rush for him, if he is also expected to compete in the German Open.
With the decision to scale down his tournaments, the 25-year-old Jun Hao will have a solid one-month to beef up for the All-England challenge.
The other men’s singles player in the fray at the All-England is Lee Zii Jia.
Zii Jia, however, is expected to make a return at the Orleans Open first before competing in the All-England.
World No. 7 Zii Jia is the top seed in the tournament in France.
It will be his first tournament this year as he had taken a break to recover from an ankle injury picked up during the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China, in December.
