Uneventful: China’s Shi Yuqi lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the last eight at the Paris Olympics. — AP
PETALING JAYA: Several big names such as Shi Yuqi, Li Shifeng, Anders Antonsen and Kodai Naraoka will get a quick chance to redeem themselves after disappointing showings in the Olympics.
All of them have confirmed their participation in the Japan Open from Aug 20-25 in Yokohama, which will be the first World Tour tournament after the Paris Olympic Games.
China’s Yuqi and Shifeng are the biggest disappointments as they lost early and it was the first time after decades that China did not have a representative in the Olympics semis.
China’s Yuqi, who overtook Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen as the world No. 1 in June, was far from his best as he lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the last eight while Shifeng surprisingly went down to Singapore’s 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew in the last 16.
Naraoka will be banking on home support to make a rebound after losing to Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan in the last 16.
Antonsen was shown the exit door by Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the quarter-finals. Zii Jia went on to win a bronze medal after beating Lakshya Sen of India in the playoff for the medal.
All the world’s top 10 players in the men’s singles have registered for the tournament, including Denmark’s world No. 2 and two-time Olympic champion Axelsen.
Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie (No. 5) and Anthony Ginting (No. 9) who also suffered early blows in the Olympics will try to turn around their fortunes in Japan.
Besides Zii Jia, Malaysia will also be represented in the men’s singles by world No. 27 Leong Jun Hao.
Jun Hao only started competing in World Tour 750 and 1000 competitions at the end of May but impressed by taking down the likes of Jonatan, Anthony and Tien-chen en route to reaching the last eight in the Singapore and Indonesian Opens.
The 25-year-old will be keen to continue his good form after a two-month break from tournaments.
The draw for the competition will be released tomorrow.
