PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh and the coaching team are hoping that their hard work over the past few weeks will pay off as the 21-year-old gets ready to open his Korean Masters campaign on Tuesday (Nov 4).
The tournament, which kicks off today in Iksan City, may not feature many of Malaysia’s top names, but there will still be plenty of interest in the players competing, including Justin.
Since Justin’s shock defeat in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Super 100 in Iskandar Puteri three weeks ago, the men’s singles coaching team have made several adjustments to his playing style.
Men’s singles coach K. Yogendran explained that for this tournament, aside from focusing on results, the coaches also want to see how Justin applies what he has learned over the past few weeks to overcome the weaknesses that have been holding him back.
"After the tournament in Johor, we made some changes to his training methods and style of play. We’re also very excited to see how he handles the challenges this time, the problems he may face, and how he overcomes himself.
"He has been working very hard over the past two weeks, focusing on addressing his issues, weaknesses, and shortcomings. So, the entire coaching team and I are excited to see how he performs with this new approach," said Yogendran when contacted.
Justin will enter the tournament as the fifth seed and will take on his familiar rival, Japan’s Yudai Okimoto, in the first round on Wednesday.
Okimoto, the world No. 62, had stunned Justin in their first-ever meeting three years ago in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Junior International Series in Putrajaya.
Apart from Justin, another Malaysian hoping for a strong outing in Iksan City this week is Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin.
Aidil, who is currently ranked world No. 45, is determined to improve his standing after early exits at the Malaysia Super 100 and Indonesian Masters in Medan.
The eighth seed will face a qualifier in the first round.
"We made some mistakes in the two tournaments he played earlier. If he had managed to reach the semi-finals or final in either one, he could have moved up to around world No. 35.
"But there’s still a good opportunity for him to climb the rankings here in Korea this week and later in Australia," said Aidil’s coach Nova Armada.
Besides Justin and Aidil, several other Malaysian men’s singles shuttlers will also be in action at the tournament.
Cheam June Wei will face Taiwan’s Ting Yen-chen, while Jacky Kok is set to take on Japan’s Shogo Ogawa.
Only Eogene Ewe and independent shuttler Lee Jan Jireh will be in action today in the qualifying round, with Eogene meeting Taiwan’s Liu Yi and Jan Jireh taking on South Korea’s Cho Hyeon-woo.
