Men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh in action, — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh has been boosted by his new status as the new national No. 2 and he is now looking forward to more breakthroughs.
Justin replaced Lee Zii Jia as the country’s No. 2 in the men’s singles after leaping eight spots from No. 45 to reach a career high No. 37 in the latest world rankings.
Zii Jia, who has been sidelined by an ankle injury since March, has dropped 17 spots from No. 35 to No. 52.
The 27-year-old though has a protected ranking of No. 9 and will be making his comeback in the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris.
Justin is on the reserves list for the world meet and will only qualify if Zii Jia or current national No. 1 and world No. 25 Leong Jun Hao withdraws.
Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin is also currently ahead of Zii Jia in the rankings at No. 42.
For Justin, his rise in the rankings came after he reached the final of the World Tour Super 300 Macau Open before finishing runner-up to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan.
It was the 21-year-old’s first final in the World Tour and he is keen to build on his improved showing after struggling for form this year.
“I feel very happy with my performance in Macau. I hope for more achievements in the future,” said Justin.
“I had positive discussions with my coaches Kenneth Jonassen and K. Yogendran before the tournament and we found the right direction for me to improve.
“I have learnt that I need to be more patient and work on my skills and strategies on court.”
Justin is now getting closer to breaking into the world’s top 32 which will grant him entry into Super 750 and 1000 competitions.
The youngster will return to action in the Hong Kong Open from Sept 9-14.
