PETALING JAYA: National men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh’s (pic) early exit from the US Open has raised concerns, especially after undergoing four weeks of intensive training leading up to the tournament.
Before making the long journey to Iowa, the 21-year-old had put in serious preparations with hopes of delivering a breakthrough result, particularly after the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) made the costly decision to fund his participation in the event.
However, Justin failed to live up to expectations after falling to Taiwan’s world No. 76 Liao Jhuo-fu in the second round.
Ranked 43rd in the world, Justin was tipped to progress further but went down 15-21, 21-9, 17-21 in a 59-minute battle.
The defeat dashed his hopes of replicating the strong run he enjoyed at the Taiwan Open earlier this month, where he reached the quarter-finals in another Super 300-level tournament.
He had started his US Open campaign confidently, cruising past Belgium’s Julien Carraggi 21-10, 21-10 in the first round.
Former national shuttler Ong Ewe Hock believes Justin must urgently address his shortcomings if he wants to make the leap to the top level.
Ewe Hock said the youngster needs to prove his worth quickly to be considered among the world’s best.
“For me, it’s unhealthy when you perform well while leading, but once your opponent takes the lead, you start feeling less confident. This is a weakness that he needs to address,” said Ewe Hock.
“This issue must be tackled in training sessions, and most importantly, the feeling of wanting to give up must be avoided.
“I believe Justin and his coach are aware of this, and they will work together to resolve it.”
Justin will compete at next week’s Canadian Open in Markham, where he is set to face Wang Po-wei of Taiwan in the opening round.
Meanwhile, women’s singles shuttler Wong Ling Ching failed to progress further after losing to Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova 20-22, 12-21 in the second round in the US meet.
Fortunately, K. Letshanaa kept Malaysia’s campaign alive by reaching the quarter-finals. She battled past India’s Aakarshi Kashyap 21-17, 20-22, 21-13 and will next face another Indian opponent, Tanvi Sharma.
