PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s No. 1 men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao (pic) has little to say to his critics and instead hopes to silence them by delivering better results on court.
Jun Hao is aware that many eyes are on him following a string of underwhelming performances in recent tournaments despite his status as the country’s leading men’s singles player.
He admitted that criticism has come his way whenever he fails to produce strong results, but said he does not spend time reading through every comment.
For the Kuala Lumpur-born shuttler, the priority now is to focus on improving himself. He believes that once he makes progress in his game, positive results will eventually follow.
“What can I say? I just focus on myself. If people want to comment, let them,” said Jun Hao.
That belief stems from his confidence that he is capable of beating top players when he is at his best. However, the main challenge he faces now is maintaining that level of consistency.
That was evident at the All-England when he stunned world No. 15 Kenta Nishimoto in the first round before falling to Koki Watanabe in the next round, an opponent he had beaten before.
According to Jun Hao, he needs to become more versatile not only when facing elite opponents but also against any player if he wants to secure victories consistently.
“I feel that overall I need to have all the qualities. It is not easy to beat the top players. It is not just about one or two aspects of the game. I think I need to improve my overall game.
“That day he (Koki) played more smoothly and his approach was quite different from our previous matches. I needed to adapt faster. If the opponent changes strategy, we also need a new plan.
“Maybe what I prepared that day was not difficult enough for him,” said Jun Hao, referring to his loss to Koki.
Last year, Jun Hao managed to beat several notable players including Li Shifeng, Anthony Ginting and even Lee Zii Jia, but unfortunately he was only able to produce occasional upsets without making deep runs in tournaments.
Jun Hao now has some time to address those weaknesses before the Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, from April 7-12, followed by the Thomas Cup in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24-May 3.
