PETALING JAYA: Sometimes patience is the key to victory, and that is one quality men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh (pic) still needs to develop if he wants to go further in his career.
Men’s singles coach K. Yogendran said Justin must learn to be more patient, especially with the Korean Open beginning today in Suwon.
Justin will take on China’s Wang Zhengxing in the first round.
Even though the 21-year-old’s performance graph is on the rise, Yogendran feels that he often loses patience against certain opponents, and this can disrupt pre-match strategies.
He believes only experience and consistent training will help Justin grow into a top player.
“I can say that from Macau until now, he has shown improvement and is becoming more mature, but he is still a little impatient and tries to finish off opponents too quickly.
“This causes him to make mistakes when launching attacks. But the most important thing is that he is now more composed on court, especially in his shot selection.
“I hope he can maintain this progress, especially in the coming matches,” said Yogendran when contacted.
Justin has never faced Zhengxing before, and although the Chinese shuttler suffered early exits in his last two tournaments at the Hong Kong Open and China Masters, the 23-year-old still poses a threat.
Just two months ago, Zhengxing stunned the field by reaching the final of the China Open before falling to compatriot and world No. 1 Shi Yuqi.
As for Justin, although he fell in the second round of the Hong Kong Open to fellow Malaysian Leong Jun Hao, it was still regarded as one of his best outings as he had to start from the qualifiers before upsetting world No. 13 Toma Junior Popov of France in the first round.
Last month, Justin reached his first final of the year at the Macau Open before going down to Alwi Farhan of Indonesia.
Interestingly, another Malaysian men’s singles shuttler, Leong Jun Hao, has also been drawn to face Alwi in the opening round of the Korean Open.
Meanwhile, Jacky Kok will feature in the qualifying rounds where he faces Indonesia’s Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah.
