PETALING JAYA: While some view the draw for the Asian Championships in Ningbo from April 7-12 as a tough one for the men’s singles squad, national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen prefers to see the glass as half full.
The Dane believes the tournament provides the right platform to assess how far his charges, Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh, have progressed as they gear up for the Thomas Cup in Horsens at the end of April.
With many of the world’s top players from Asia set to feature, Jonassen sees it as an ideal stage for both Jun Hao and Justin to show their true capabilities despite their recent struggles for consistency.
Jun Hao will face defending champion Jonatan Christie in the opening round, while Justin takes on fellow Indonesian Alwi Farhan.
“Both are tough first-round opponents and will be a very good test for both Jun Hao and Justin.
“As the build-up to the Thomas Cup continues, these are the matches and opportunities we need to test ourselves, appreciate and learn from,” said Jonassen.
At the same time, Jonassen admitted that Justin’s performances in Europe over the past few weeks, particularly at the Orleans Masters, fell short of expectations.
He was eliminated in the second round by Taiwan’s Su Li-yang and suffered the same fate at the Swiss Open, where he lost to India’s Tharun Mannepalli.
Earlier at the German Open, Justin endured an even tougher outing as he exited in the first round after losing to Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu.
As such, with about two weeks remaining before the Asian Championships, Jonassen hopes Justin and Jun Hao will make full use of the time to bring out their full potential at the tournament.
“Orleans had its ups and downs. As a team we learned a lot from this tournament, which will help us improve.
“The Asian Championships are next and all will benefit from two weeks of intense training, focusing on improving our physical fitness while strengthening key aspects of our game based on what we have learned in recent weeks,” he added.
