PETALING JAYA: The agony continued for Malaysia in the men’s singles when both Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh crashed out in the opening round of the Malaysian Masters on Wednesday (May 20).
World No. 25 Jun Hao was sent packing by China’s former world junior champion Hu Zhean 21-19, 23-21 in 54 minutes at the Unifi Arena in Bukit Jalil.
World No. 45 Justin suffered the same fate after going down to Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting 16-21, 14-21 in 45 minutes despite putting up a brief fight.
It is the second straight year that Malaysia will not have a men’s singles representative beyond the opening round of the Masters.
In last year’s edition, Jun Hao and Justin lost to Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen and Japan’s Kodai Naraoka respectively, while Ng Tze Yong retired during his match against Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long.
The last local player to progress beyond the first round was Lee Zii Jia, who finished runner-up to Viktor Axelsen in 2024.
Zii Jia is not competing in this year’s edition.
