PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh is anticipating a strong rivalry with Indonesian Alwi Farhan in the future.
Both Justin, 20, and Alwi, 19 are rising stars for their respective countries. Alwi has already claimed the 2023 World Junior Championships title.
Based on head-to-head records, Alwi holds the advantage over Justin as he has defeated him in his past four matches.
The past defeats have led Justin to find new strategies to beat his opponent.
In their last encounter in the Macau Open recently, Justin lost narrowly to the Indonesian 21-15, 16-21,17-21 in the second round.
“I have competed with Alwi before during our junior days. We are from the same batch,” said Justin after a training session at Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM).
“I find Alwi to be a strong player and I need to watch out for him in the future,” he said.
The youngster will be playing next in the Malaysia Super 100 at Stadium Juara from Oct 15-20.
Justin missed out on this tournament last year due to an Achilles tendon injury that sidelined him for eight months.
“I am looking forward to the upcoming tournament and I am hoping to get good results this time,” said Justin.
“I used to train in Stadium Juara during my younger days, now I am happy to go back and compete in this tournament there.”
Justin, who moved up one rung to No. 51 in the latest world rankings, hopes to break into the top 40 as soon as possible.
His injuries did not stop him from continuing his training and building on his strengths.
He continues to strive harder and achieve more in the next tournament.
“After fully recovering from my injury in my leg and knee earlier this year, I am striving to do better for my next tournament,” said Justin.
“The backing of the home supporters will be an encouragement for me to win the tournament.”
