PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Shi Yuqi (pic) is the man to beat in the men’s singles in the Asian Championships which starts on Tuesday in Ningbo, China.
World No. 1 Yuqi has started the year in smashing form, capturing both the World Tour Super 1000 titles so far – the Malaysian Open in January and All-England in March.
The home favourite will now be out to end his wait for the gold in the Asian meet which is also equivalent to a Super 1000 event.
Yuqi came closest to winning the crown in 2019 in Wuhan where he finished second to Japan’s Kento Momota.
The Chinese ace was denied by eventual champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the semi-finals in last year’s edition which was also held in Ningbo.
Jonatan, who is seeded second and Thailand’s third seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn are likely to be the other contenders for the gold this time along with Yuqi’s teammate and fourth seed Li Shifeng.
It could be difficult to stop Yuqi though if he can maintain his superb form this year.
The 29-year-old will open his campaign against a qualifier before a possible meeting with Hong Kong’s world No. 18 Angus Ng Ka Long in the second round.
Yuqi has a good chance to reach the last four where he could set up a mouth-watering showdown with Kunlavut.
The Thai is the only player who has beaten Yuqi so far when he toppled him in the Indonesian Masters semi-finals in January and went on to win the title.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s best hope in the competition will be debutant and world No. 26 Leong Jun Hao.
Jun Hao will be the country’s highest ranked men’s singles player in the tourney in the absence of world No. 8 Lee Zii Jia, who is currently sidelined due to his ankle injury.
The 25-year-old though will not have it easy right from the start as he faces world No. 13 Taiwanese Lin Chun-yi.
The other Malaysians in the fray in the men’s singles are another debutant Justin Hoh and Ng Tze Yong.
Justin will start from the qualifying rounds while Tze Yong, who will be making his long awaited return to competitions after two back surgeries last year, has an uphill task against Kunlavut in the opening round.
Zii Jia was the last Malaysian to win the men’s singles title when he was crowned champion in 2022.
