PETALING JAYA: Tough draws are nothing new for Malaysia’s shuttlers, and this time, men’s singles player Leong Jun Hao (pic) has once again been handed a tricky opener against his familiar nemesis –China’s Li Shifeng in the first round of the Denmark Open next week.
It will be the ninth meeting between the two, and their fifth encounter this year alone since January.
Adding to Jun Hao’s challenge is the fact that he faced Shifeng twice just last month – at the Hong Kong Open and China Masters – and fell short on both occasions in hard-fought matches.
So far, Jun Hao has only managed one victory over the Chinese world No. 4 – which came in the first round of the Indian Open earlier this year.
Adding to the pressure, Jun Hao will be Malaysia’s sole representative in the men’s singles after independent shuttler Lee Zii Jia was forced to withdraw due to a back injury.
It will be a challenging task for Jun Hao as he looks to make up for last year’s disappointment, when he bowed out in the first round after losing to Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie.
There was some relief for the national camp as the men’s doubles pairs are back in action after most of them decided to skip the Arctic Open this week.
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will take on Indonesia’s new pairing of Rian Ardianto-Rahmat Hidayat, while Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King face a tough task against former world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi.
Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, who are going through a rough patch, will test the rising French brothers Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov, while Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong will meet China’s Xie Haonan-Zeng Weihan.
Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani will take on Ben Lane-Sean Vendy of England, while Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri will face China’s Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang.
In the women’s doubles, Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting will make their debut in this tournament against Ukraine’s Polina Buhrova-Yevheniia Kantemyr. Second seeds Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will open their campaign against Indonesia’s Rachel Rose-Febi Setianingrum, while Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing will face South Korea’s Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo.
In the mixed doubles, world champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, the fourth seeds, will take on Taiwan’s Yang Po-hsuan-Hu Ling-fang, while Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie will meet another Taiwanese pair, Lu Ming-che-Hung En-tzu.
Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien, meanwhile, will face India’s Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto.
