PETALING JAYA: On paper, it looks like a mismatch, but men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh (pic) has no reason to be intimidated despite being drawn against world No. 13 Toma Junior Popov of France in the opening round of the Hong Kong Open today.
In fact, the pressure will be on Popov, who is seeded eighth in the tournament.
National men’s singles coach K. Yogendran admitted it will be a tough task for Justin, currently ranked 39th in the world, especially after battling through two gruelling qualifying matches yesterday.
Even so, Yogendran stressed Justin’s biggest opponent is himself. For that reason, he wants the 20-year-old to step onto the court today with the focus on improving his own game and applying everything he has learned when facing Popov.
“I hope he can continue to improve as he will be up against higher-ranked players, and that will not be easy. He needs to overcome himself and deliver his best performance,” said Yogendran.
Yesterday, Justin booked his place in the main draw after defeating compatriot Jacky Kok 21-7, 21-11, before overcoming India’s Tharun Mannepalli.
The clash against Mannepalli was anything but straightforward as the world No. 34 was eager to avenge his semi-final defeat to Justin at the Macau Open last month. He was also brimming with confidence after pulling off a surprise win over former world No. 1 K. Srikanth in the qualifiers.
Fortunately, Justin managed to prevail with a hard-fought 21-23, 21-13, 21-18 victory in a match that lasted 78 minutes.
“We are pleased that Justin has qualified for the main draw, especially since the opponent he faced in the qualifiers was no ordinary player as he had just beaten K. Srikanth.
“The matches between them have always been closely contested. Even at the Macau Open, Justin only managed to edge past him in a deciding game,” added Yogendran.
Joining Justin in the main draw is independent shuttler Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin.
Aidil can count himself fortunate to have drawn a more evenly matched opponent in Taiwan’s Chi Yu-jen in the first round today.
In the qualifiers yesterday, Aidil overcame Canada’s Sheng Xiaodong 21-10, 21-19 before sealing his spot in the main draw with a 21-7, 21-13 win over England’s Ngan Heng Lin.
“For today’s (yesterday) match I didn’t think too much, I just went all out and focused on every point. My opponent tomorrow (today) is also a good player, but I will give my best and go all out again,” said Aidil.
Meanwhile, the highlight of the men’s singles will be the all-Malaysian showdown between Lee Zii Jia and Leong Jun Hao, which is set to determine who truly deserves to be regarded as the country’s No. 1 player.
