PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s men’s singles No. 1 Leong Jun Hao now faces the challenge of staying the course at the All-England after pulling off a stunning first round upset on Tuesday.
Jun Hao, who was not tipped to go far, produced a stirring performance to knock out world No. 13 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 21-17, 13-21, 21-18.
It was sweet revenge for Jun Hao, who had lost to Nishimoto in the second round of the World Championships in Paris last August.
“Of course I’m happy because every time I play Nishimoto it’s a tough match. Today I managed to come back and win,” said Jun Hao.
The victory also marked an improvement from his debut at the All-England last year, where he exited in the first round after losing to Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie.
Jun Hao will next face another Japanese player, Koki Watanabe, in the second round.
Watanabe was equally impressive as he stunned world No. 3 Anders Antonsen 21-8, 21-12.
It is a result that Jun Hao must take note of, even though he holds a favourable 4-1 head-to-head record against Watanabe.
Jun Hao also revealed that he experienced discomfort in his back during the match against Nishimoto.
“My back, more on my back, I felt like it was twisted or something like that. I get a rest day tomorrow, so let’s see how the recovery goes. I’ll do my best to make sure everything is fine and prepare for the second round,” he added.
Besides Nishimoto and Antonsen, world No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yuqi was also shown the exit.
The Chinese star went down 21-23, 19-21, 17-21 to India’s Lakshya Sen.
Meanwhile, Canada’s rising player Victor Lai knocked out eighth seed Alex Lanier 21-12, 21-23, 23-21.
