PETALING JAYA: National singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen is encouraged by the progress shown by Leong Jun Hao (pic) in recent weeks, despite the shuttler’s inability to make a deep run at the Indonesian Open.
The 26-year-old bowed out in the second round after going down 16-21, 15-21 to world No. 8 Alex Lanier.
Jun Hao had earlier received a timely confidence boost after defeating world No. 11 Kodai Naraoka 21-17, 21-17 in the opening round.
Jonassen acknowledged Lanier’s quality but said he was more pleased with the effort and commitment shown by Jun Hao following the disciplinary issues that had put the player under the spotlight.
The Dane also praised Jun Hao’s fighting spirit, saying the player had shown encouraging signs not only in Jakarta but also at last week’s Singapore Open, where he pushed hard despite a first-round defeat to Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao.
“I think we are seeing some kind of result after the additional effort Jun Hao has put into his day-to-day training. It took a little while because putting in the effort is one thing, but you still have to find the confidence and the daring to actually perform,” said Jonassen.
Jun Hao previously came under scrutiny after being named as one of the players involved in disciplinary issues within the national squad.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) performance committee chairman Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei revealed that Jun Hao had not been fully focused during training sessions and had occasionally skipped them.
The issues were also reflected in his performances, with the national shuttler struggling to produce consistent results over the past few months.
After being handed a stern warning, Jonassen hopes Jun Hao can continue building on the positive changes he has shown in recent weeks.
“There are clearly a few areas where some inconsistency comes in when the pressure and the speed of the rally go up. This is something we will address and move forward from.
“But the effort he has shown over the last three to five weeks since the Thomas Cup is slowly paying off. However, this is just a starting point.
‘’We cannot settle or say we are out of the woods. We have to maintain this progress and be even more ambitious going forward,” he added.
