PETALING JAYA: It was a disappointing end for both men’s singles shuttlers Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh in the Indian Open.
Misfortune in the form of a high fever forced Jun Hao to retire from his first round match against Japan’s Yushi Tanaka while Justin’s debut in the Super 750 level was cut short by China’s Lu Guangzu.
The 26-year-old Jun Hao had to call it quits while trailing 5-21, 3-8 against Tanaka at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi yesterday.
Jun Hao looked far from his normal self as he struggled with his movement during the match.
“Jun Hao started having fever yesterday (Tuesday) and his condition got worse on match day,” lamented men’s singles coach K. Yogendran when contacted.
It was an unfortunate end for Jun Hao, who was hoping to build some momentum after showing glimpses of his capabilities in the Malaysian Open last week.
The world No. 23 defeated China’s world No. 29 Wang Zhengxing in the home Open before going down to Indonesia’s 2018 Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie in the second round.
Meanwhile, world No. 39 Justin was looking for a positive start to his year but could not find a way past world No. 15 Guangzu, going down 17-21, 15-21 in 42 minutes.
Yogendran acknowledged that the 21-year-old still had some way to go to reach a higher level.
“Justin has improved and started well against Guangzu but could not maintain his performance until the end,” said Yogendran.
“There are some aspects of his game that we still need to work on.
“He still has some way to go to move to a higher level.”
Jun Hao and Justin’s exits meant that Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s singles in the tournament has ended.
Their next assignment is the Indonesian Masters which starts next Tuesday in Jakarta.
