PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh has to work on his strength and mentality if he wants to go further in his World Tour Super 500 debut at the Hong Kong Open on Tuesday.
Justin, who lost to homester Chou Tien-chen in the quarter-finals of the ongoing Super 300 Taiwan Open, learnt that he lacked both qualities when playing against the world No. 9.
Finding his rhythm: Justin Hoh won gold for Federal Territories in the Malaysia Games last month.
“I need to improve a lot in terms of my strength and mentality. This is what I learned mostly from playing against Tien-chen,” he said.
“Anyway, I’m happy with my performance in the Taiwan Open. I could learn a lot from the top players.
“After this, I’m excited to play in my first Super 500 tournament in Hong Kong. I will try my best and give a good fight.”
Justin was set to compete in higher tier events after reaching No. 54 in the world rankings in April last year but an Achilles injury cruelly curtailed his progress.
The 20-year-old returned to action last November but had to battle foot and knee injuries.
Justin’s ranking dropped to No. 233 after his setbacks but he has worked himself up to No. 68 in the latest rankings after shrugging off all his injury issues.
He captured the Slovenian Open and Saipan International titles this year and finished runner-up in the Northern Marianas Open.
Justin also won gold for Federal Territories in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) last month.
In the Hong Kong Open, Justin could face teammate and world No. 29 Leong Jun Hao in the first round if he clears the qualifying rounds.
The other Malaysian in the fray will be independent player Cheam June Wei.
Meanwhile, Jun Hao will be out to do better after losing in the early rounds in the back-to-back Japan and Korean Opens.
The 25-year-old went down fighting to home favourite and 2023 World Championships silver medallist Kodai Naraoka in the second round of the Japan tourney and came second best to the latter’s teammate Takuma Obayashi in the opening match in Korea.
